


Never (Have I Ever)

by AmeliaAsherWrites, ohhitherekate



Series: Delilah Mason/Odette [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based off a OUAT RP, Based on Palm Springs, Cheating, Explicit Language, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Madness, Murder, Palm Springs AU, Psychotropic Drugs, Smoking, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:34:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29571111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaAsherWrites/pseuds/AmeliaAsherWrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohhitherekate/pseuds/ohhitherekate
Summary: A wedding takes place in Storybrooke bringing friends and family together for the joyous event. It truly is a beautiful wedding. The only problem? Jefferson has been to this wedding so many times, he’s lost count. Every morning he wakes up in the same bed to the same unfortunate situation and relives the same damn day. He’s living in hell. He should have never left the reception — he should have never followed the white rabbit into the cave. One day, a ripple changed the repetition. Someone had followed him into the time loop and thankfully this person doesn’t want him dead.
Relationships: Mad Hatter | Jefferson/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Delilah Mason/Odette [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172522
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Each work in the Delilah Mason/Odette series is considered independent and do not need to be read in chronological order.

* * *

The New Year’s Eve chill was rather mild for Maine which was a good thing considering the fact that Aurora and Phillip chose that evening to get married. Ringing in the New Year with a happy occasion had to be a good omen for a happy and prosperous year, they said. Jefferson suspected it was going to be the year from hell. So far, this singular day had been just that. And he was far beyond not giving a shit anymore.

The bride and groom were sitting center-stage as their matron of honor droned on and on about the same old thing she always talked about and Jefferson could feel his brain cells slowly dying an agonizing death. He could parrot back everything she was saying, but he’d grown bored of doing that eons ago. He threw back the full glass of tequila and slammed the empty glass down on the table. The father of the bride glared at him. Jefferson blew him a kiss.

Priscilla elbowed Jefferson in the side and glared at him to behave. He gave her a tight smile.

When slowly slipping into madness, the instinct to survive flares up on occasion. He had to survive this. And the only way to do that was to entertain himself and maybe the other wedding guests. Several looked uncomfortable as Katherine recounted that time she and Aurora streaked through downtown Storybrooke while a few others were nodding off to sleep with their chins on their palms at the late hour.

Like a lithe dancer, Jefferson was out of his seat and jogging up to the matron of honor and snatched the mic from her hand. “Thank you, Katherine. I’m sure we’ll all remember your graphic depictions of Aurora’s bare ass for the rest of our unnatural lives.” Some murmurs of laughter filled the air. Priscilla’s eyes had gone huge in shock. ‘What are you doing?’ her lips read silently.

Katherine glared at him as she stalked out of the spotlight. “What the hell are you wearing?” She hissed under her breath as she left.

Jefferson glanced down at his attire. So what if he had decided to wear black jeans with a tuxedo print t-shirt to a wedding? It wasn’t as if anyone would remember what he was doing anyway.

“Love,” he started. His voice momentarily boomed in the speakers which caused the MC to scramble to change the audio settings. Jefferson scanned the crowd as some of the half-asleep audience started sitting upright at the change. “It’s what brings us here tonight. To celebrate the happy union of Aurora and Phillip.” Aurora’s father was starting to glare again and to get up from his seat, but his wife set her hand on his arm to still him. Wait, her lips said to him.

Oh, Aurora’s sweet mother, Jefferson thought. Way too much a freak for the likes of that old fart. He smirked as he brought the microphone back to his mouth.

“Not at all to focus on those that have put us through literal hell,” he said, sarcastically as his eyes settled point blank on the bridesmaid sitting at the bar cradling a drink of her own. “Delilah,” he added under his breath before clearing his throat and grinning again.

He raised his voice as he looked around again. “Let us raise our glasses--I need a drink!” He held out his hand, snapping his fingers until Will, the bartender, ran a drink to him, and Jefferson raised it up. “‘May you never steal, lie, or cheat.’” He gave a sour look to the redheaded woman sitting in the seat next to the one he had vacated before turning his eyes toward the head table to grin innocently at Aurora and Phillip. “‘But if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows; and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life.’” Inadvertently, he looked back to the woman at the bar, before continuing past to the older generation of the audience—Aurora’s grandmother, “‘and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn’t live a day without you.’”

On cue, several “aww’s” were uttered and Jefferson nodded. He’d expected that, of course.

Aurora’s grandmother was infinitely more interesting than half the people in attendance, he thought, reflectively. Then figured, to hell with it and raised his glass again. “To Aurora and Phillip! Now, let’s get drunk!” He was already pretty damn drunk if it wasn’t obvious.

The band started on cue, jamming to the same cliche song as always, but Jefferson was past caring. He drank the Irish whiskey Will had handed him and threw the empty glass over his shoulder before weaving onto the dance floor.

* * *

The burning sensation in the back of her throat tingled as she swallowed a healthy sum of her drink. She swished the ice in her whiskey sour, watching as Aurora's other bridesmaid went on about streaking through downtown Storybrooke. Delilah huffed out a laugh, surprised by the story. The pristine, put together Aurora that Delilah worked with didn’t seem like the kind of woman to ever truly let loose — not even at her bachelorette party! When Aurora had asked Delilah to be one of her bridesmaids, she had been shocked to say the least. She reluctantly agreed, a part of her only saying yes because of Aurora’s fiancé, whom she and her then (and now ex) boyfriend Derek were friends with. Getting dumped a week before the wedding had Delilah regretting ever saying yes to Aurora.

Delilah brought the small red straw to her lips and sipped the whiskey sour, eyes narrowing slightly as someone took the mic from Katherine. Delilah frowned when she saw who it was who had stolen the microphone. Jefferson.

They had met the night before at the wedding rehearsal dinner — which half the town seemed to attend. Delilah had found him charming, incredibly handsome and brought him back to her hotel room for the night. It had been great, or so she thought. When she woke up in the morning Jefferson was gone. Delilah wasn’t too hurt — that was until the guests of the wedding started to arrive and Jefferson walked in with a beautiful redhead on his arm. She had heard from Katherine, who enjoyed gossiping about everyone, that the woman was Jefferson’s wife. Delilah felt sick to her stomach and swore to avoid Jefferson at all costs.

He was rambling on and Delilah took a moment to look him over. He was wearing dark jeans and one of those tacky shirts that had a print of a tuxedo on it. He did not look like the man who had charmed Delilah last night.

Wait, did he just say her name? Delilah frowned — did he say her name after talking about those who put others lives through literal hell? What the actual fuck? Delilah looked around the room, wondering if someone else had heard him say her name. Jefferson continued on with his speech and Delilah sat still, completely confused by this man.

When the speech was over, Delilah had every intention of confronting Jefferson. However, another guest of the wedding sought out her attention.

“What’d you do to piss him off?” Delilah turned in her seat to face the man who was speaking to her. “You are Delilah, right?” She recognized him. He was a doctor at Storybrooke General. “Victor Whale,” he gave her his name as he held out his hand for her to shake.

Delilah shook his hand. “Yeah, I’m Delilah,” she said after letting his hand go.

“So,” Victor drew out the word. “What’d you do?”

Delilah shook her head. What had she done? She couldn’t help but huff out a laugh. She had opened her legs for him; that’s what she did. It wasn’t like she knew he was married. Did his wife find out? How was that her fault?

Delilah got up from her seat and stalked over to where Jefferson was dancing. She could see that his wife looked equally irritated. “What the hell was that?” Delilah asked once she was standing in front of him.

Jefferson spun around and saw Delilah approaching him. He moved his shoulders with the music and set his teeth in his bottom lip as he grinned. “Oh, the Irish Blessing? Very popular at weddings,” he said, smoothly.

Now that his attention was solely on Delilah, he moved into her space, grinning broadly. She looked good, radiant even; always did, but today she looked angry. His fault, he knew it, but it didn’t mean they couldn’t still have fun. “Want to dance?” he asked her.

Delilah watched him oddly. Was he high? He asked her if she wanted to dance and Delilah couldn’t help but pull her head back in surprise — he wanted to dance?

Something was about to happen, so before Delilah would answer, Jefferson held up a finger. “One sec…” Turning on his heel, he grabbed the elbow of the woman that had been spun way too fast and to prevent her from crashing into Jefferson’s back, he continued to spin her back into the arms of her wreckless dance partner. That taken care of, he turned back around to face Delilah, his eyebrows up as he waited for her answer, still moving with the music.

She had been about to ask him what sort of drugs he was on when he held up his finger, turning around to grab the elbow of a woman who was hurtling towards him in a spin. Jefferson, as if on cue, spun her back to her partner. Delilah shook her head in confusion. Had that been planned?

She looked at Jefferson, her big eyes narrowing into a glare. He was still moving along with the music. “Why don’t you ask your wife if she wants to dance?” Delilah suggested in a sharp tone.

“Pass. Too awkward. She’s taking off with my best friend as we speak. Ex-best friend, I guess.” He was rather passive about it by now. The first time it had happened, he was irate as hell.

“Besides, I’d rather dance with you… or...” he drawled seeing she was not in a dancing mood, “I could show you that I’m not lying to you. Come on.”

Jefferson took two steps, paused to wait for the water glass to go hurdling past them and continued forward to the trees. They passed the bar on the way and Jefferson grabbed the two drinks he had ordered and offered one to Delilah with a bow and a grin. He might be intoxicated but he knew her favorite drink and could still lay on the charm.

Not too far from the party, and behind a row of bushes, just far enough to be out of sight were his wife and best friend going at it, and not exactly quietly. Jefferson looked at Delilah to see if this was proof enough to her. “This isn’t the first time,” he whispered. That was far more true than he could even say. “I left her a few months ago, but she texted me asking to try again. Fool me once, fool me twice…” He waved his free hand, trying to remember the saying but it was a bit murky in his brain at the moment. The gist was that he was infinitely a fool and he was admitting it.

Closing his eyes, he took a long drink of his margarita.

Delilah followed Jefferson — why? She had no idea. It was likely out of curiosity. What did he mean when he said his wife had just left with his best friend? Or, his ex-best friend. When he handed her a drink from the bar, Delilah was surprised to find it was her favorite. It must just be a coincidence — who doesn’t love a margarita? Delilah was just about to ask him where he was taking her when they stopped. Her eyes widened as she looked through the window from behind the bush.

His wife was...with his best friend! And Jefferson seemed...unbothered. “Jesus fuck,” Delilah said at the same time as his wife cried out the word as well. She cringed at the noises the redhead was making, loud moans and whimpers of pleasure.

“Exactly,” Jefferson said, smirking at Delilah when she said the very thing Priscilla said. He giggled a little as if it was rather funny. That was the thing about slowly going mad.

Delilah turned to look over at Jefferson as he sipped his margarita. She took a large gulp of her drink as well. “Why not go in there and kick his ass?” Delilah asked after swallowing. “Seriously — why aren’t you trying to kill him right now?” If she found her significant other with someone else, Delilah would rage. How was Jefferson so calm about this? And then she remembered what he said; this isn’t the first time.

“I did kick his ass the first time,” he explained, raking his fingers through his hair as he settled down against the wall to get comfortable. “And the second and third time… It doesn’t matter. He can have her.”

Delilah chuckled softly, not understanding what the hell Jefferson was talking about. The first, second, and third time? How many times had Jefferson caught his wife with his best friend? Whatever, it didn’t matter. At least he was realizing that the woman would never change. “You’re better off.” Delilah told him, drinking some of her margarita.

“So when we,” she motioned behind them to what was happening, --had sex, “you were separated?” Delilah asked.

“Very separated. No intention of going back.” He shook his head as he drew his hand through the air as if to sever the tie that binds. “But I’m a sucker and thought she meant it when she said she wanted me back.” He took to sucking down the remainder of his drink.

Well,.that made things even more awkward.

Jefferson may not have technically cheated on his wife; but he still ran right to her the moment she called him back. And here Delilah thought that their night together had been one you wouldn’t easily forget. It made her feel cheap, and a bit used to be honest.

Delilah felt a little bad for Jefferson when his wife began to loudly proclaim how this man was the best fuck ever. But not that bad. He had left her in bed this morning with no note telling her what happened. She wasn’t heartless though. “Are you going to be okay?” Delilah asked.

“Long term?” Jefferson asked Delilah, not even fazed anymore by the things Priscilla was moaning about William’s performance. Once upon a time, it would have struck him as especially hurtful to hear her say this to his closest friend of all people. “Doubtful. I’m stuck in Hell.” He eyed Delilah. “But that’s no reason not to have fun.”

Delilah raised her brow. “I’m not going to be your spite fuck, Jefferson.” She told him, patting his chest.

Jefferson stared at Delilah as she told him she wouldn’t be his… spite fuck? He’d changed subtle things each time they spoke and spite fuck was a new one that made his eyes widen as he grinned. That was why he liked her. Why he had taken an interest in her the night before--which seemed like an eternity ago by now. She was brutally honest, funny, and pretty sweet, even when angry. She didn’t remind him of Priscilla at all. He rubbed the middle of his chest where she patted him as she laughed and he shook his head.

“Not today, not tomorrow, and not the day after that. In the infamous words of the Kelly Clarkson; you had your chance —you blew it.” She smirked, trying to make light of the moment.

Of course he blew it by going back to Priscilla, but he most certainly couldn’t change that day. Today, however, was different. “I totally agree,” he said, not letting his pride get struck down into the dirt in which he sat.

“I’m sure there are plenty of women here tonight that would let you into their beds though,” she said. “Katherine...well, maybe not her. You did take over her speech. And I honestly think she’s secretly in love with Aurora. Her description of Aurora’s ass was far too detailed.”

“I was going to say the same thing.” No, he wasn’t. But he grinned nonetheless.

Yes, yes, just like that. Almost, almost there —

The sound of Priscilla reaching her climax drifted right over Jefferson’s head. Delilah was always good at distracting Jefferson from that particular loss and it was why he sought out her company so many times in this repetitious hell. She made the burn more bearable--even if she always, always turned him down. It was fine. So long as he didn’t have to deal with this unbearable wedding alone again and again, it was fine.

He had no interest in seeking out other women, as Delilah suggested earlier. On the occasions that he got to speak to Delilah, she could hold his entire attention span. If she blew him off and wouldn’t speak to him, then he’d find the distraction he needed elsewhere. Not today.

Delilah shook her head as she listened to Jefferson’s wife finish. “Let’s get out of here?” She suggested.

Jefferson nodded as Delilah asked him to get out of here with her and he stood, having to brace himself against the wall for a second. His head was spinning a little from all the alcohol he had consumed. Too much. But he was never sure if he would convince Delilah to accompany him or not. And going through this day completely sober was the worst.

Delilah motioned for Jefferson to follow her. She might not be willing to sleep with him, but they could still have a good time. Walking by the wedding party, Delilah grabbed Jefferson’s hand as she swiped a whole bottle of tequila that was sitting out on the bar unattended by chance, leaving her margarita. She led him off into the wooded area where they could watch the party from afar.

She spotted her ex, Derek, dancing with another woman. Delilah frowned, taking a swig straight from the bottle. It shouldn’t bother her to see Derek dancing with another woman — they were broken up. Perhaps it was just her pride that was wounded. Derek had sworn to love her forever, that their love was everlasting (whatever the fuck that meant), and Delilah had been shocked when he sat her down and told her that he wanted to break up.

However, the more time away she spent from him, the happier she actually felt. She and Derek had been together since they were nineteen, and now on the verge of turning twenty eight, Delilah was single for the first time in almost ten years. It had been a few months since the break up and there were the occasional moments of weakness where Delilah would call Derek and they’d end up in bed together, but the last time had been weeks ago. And after sleeping with Jefferson, Delilah had felt renewed; she didn’t need Derek anymore. Not because she saw herself getting into a relationship with Jefferson; but because the sex had been amazing and for the first time she felt empowered. That was until she woke up to an empty bed. That had knocked her down a few pegs.

She wondered if Jefferson hadn’t come to her this evening if she would have ended up leaving with Derek?

“Drinking game?” Delilah suggested, wanting to get blissfully drunk.

Jefferson went along with Delilah, letting her lead the way. This was unchartered territory thus far and entirely invigorating since he had no idea what to expect. His half-lidded eyes followed her motion of exchanging her drink for a much bigger drink and he grinned.

There was a call toward Delilah from the wedding party wanting her to join them but it was more of that irritating display from Katherine hanging onto Aurora. The embarrassed, newly wedded bride was going to have a hard time getting back to Phillip. Did Jefferson care? Nope. He was happy enough to stumble along with Delilah into the edge of the woods far, far away from where Priscilla was getting her rocks off.

They had also passed by the man that Jefferson knew was Delilah’s ex and Jefferson most definitely wasn’t going to tell her what he knew about the woman he was dancing with. Or about Derek’s tendency to cry in a pillow for his mommy when stoned. Jefferson giggled as his back hit the pine tree that they had stopped near.

“A drinking game! What a great idea. I…” He hiccuped, putting his fist to his mouth at the unexpected interruption. “I predict,” he started again, “that you will end up far drunker than I am.” The last thing he really wanted was to pass out too early and miss this rather agreeable mood Delilah was in. He shouldn’t have started the morning heavily drinking. But he knew enough about her that he was sure he could get her to raise her glass more times than he would raise his. Might level the playing field at least and maybe he would be able to get that New Year’s Eve kiss and another romp in the sack with her. Optimism and all that. “Never have I ever?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows with a challenging glint in his eye.

Delilah pursed her lips, trying to come up with a good question. She didn’t know Jefferson very well; it’d be much more fun if she could ask him questions that she knew he’d have to drink to — especially after he had declared that she would end up drunker than he was. But what to ask? They’d both have to drink if Delilah asked if he had ever had a one night stand. But at least he’d still be ahead of her on the drunk scale. No, that wasn’t good enough. Delilah actually wanted to learn something about Jefferson.

Her first question had to be a good one though. Not anything too serious. Delilah looked over at the wedding party and watched as Katherine pouted while Aurora’s attention was turned to Phillip. There was nothing worse than a needy best friend. Or, a best friend who was in love with you. Delilah chuckled, knowing what she’d ask now. “Never have I ever...gone streaking through Storybrooke’s town square,” she said with a quirk of her brow.

“Damn,” Jefferson huffed as he reached his hand out for the bottle Delilah held. He laughed, dipping his head briefly, and took a hearty swig from the bottle. He hadn’t expected to drink so quickly, but it wasn’t as if Delilah could have known. “Okay,” he started, as he lowered the bottle and ran his tongue across his bottom lip as he thought of where to start on that one. “I got caught by Granny with her granddaughter, Ruby. I had no time to grab my clothes and had to run for my life down Main Street as she shot arrows at me with her crossbow.” He wouldn’t tell Delilah that one of the bolts had struck him in the bare ass as he ran for his life. There was no scar now to prove it as there should be.

Delilah laughed as Jefferson told her his story. There were always rumors that Granny had a crossbow hidden behind the counter of the diner, but Delilah didn’t actually think those rumors were true. She shook her head with an amused grin, trying to picture Jefferson running for his life in the nude while little old Granny chased after him. When had this happened? Surely it would have been town gossip. Clearly it had happened before Delilah moved to Storybrooke.

“How about you?” He raised an eyebrow. “Never have I ever… been caught by a parental figure when with a lover.” He took a drink from the bottle before waving it at Delilah in offering with a smirk.

Delilah closed her eyes in embarrassment. Taking the bottle of tequila back from Jefferson, she took a swig. “I was nineteen,” Delilah confessed after swallowing. “Didn’t think my Dad was home at the time. He found me on the couch with my boyfriend.” They weren’t having sex, but Delilah was sure that what her father saw was an act he never in his life wanted to see his daughter preform. “God, he was fucking pissed.” She laughed, thinking of how her poor father had grabbed Derek by the back of his neck and threw him out of the house like he was a dog. Delilah had moved out shortly after that incident.

“Embarrassing, isn’t it?” He could empathize with her.

Delilah bit down on her lower lip as she tried to think of a question she could ask Jefferson. “Never have I ever drunk called an ex.” She asked, taking a sip first to let him know that she had. It wasn’t something that Delilah was proud of — but sometimes a girl gets lonely.

Jefferson laughed when Delilah took a drink when asking him a question. He knew Delilah often went back to Derek so of course she would drunk-call him. Once or twice she even went back to Derek after drinking with Jefferson. He couldn’t judge her because he’d done the same damn thing with Priscilla after hooking up with Delilah which had started this entire mess that was his existence.

Drunk calling an ex? He didn’t have to think too hard on that one. A time or two, he had even called Priscilla begging for forgiveness as if he had been the one at fault--sometimes after he’d beaten up William and the reality of being completely alone would set in, especially the more and more he had to repeat his mistakes. He shook his head and reached for the bottle. “I wish I could say I was stronger than that, but…” Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, he added, “I’m not very good at giving up or being alone.” He took a fortifying gulp. “Hence, my close association with my friend Jose Cuervo.” Grinning fondly at the bottle, he bit his lip as he grinned back at Delilah.

“Never have I ever had sex with someone to make someone else jealous…?” This was something he didn’t have to drink to himself so he held onto the bottle, waiting.

Delilah raised her brow, surprised that Jefferson didn’t drink. “Never?” She inquired. Honestly, Delilah thought that perhaps Jefferson had slept with her the night before to get back at his wife — to make her jealous. But he wasn’t drinking. She couldn’t help it when her lips twitched upward, smiling a little. It seemed that Jefferson hadn’t used her the way she thought he had. “Can’t say I have,” Delilah told Jefferson, not taking the bottle from him. It was the truth. Delilah had never slept with anyone to make someone else jealous. The only time she slept with someone was when there was an attraction, not to spite someone or make them jealous.

It wasn’t as if Jefferson would have blamed Delilah for sleeping with him to make her ex jealous, but he was glad to see that she didn’t take the bottle from him. It was a small consolation in the hell in which he remained.

“Never have I ever...gone skinny dipping?” Delilah asked with a grin. It was something she had always wanted to do; but never found someone brave enough to do it with her.

When she asked her question, he tilted his head back as he grinned. She wasn’t drinking either. “Ha,” he mumbled, thinking over the logistics of skinny dipping in Maine on December 31st. While it wasn’t exactly warm, it wasn’t freezing out either, but he would damn well bet that the lake waters were close enough to it. “There’s always a first time.”

Amused, he turned his head toward the direction of the lake in the woods. He couldn’t see it from where he leaned against the tree on the edge of the forest but he knew the direction and could walk there in the pitch dark just as well as in broad daylight. “Are you game?” he asked Delilah. He was beyond the limits of sober thinking, and even if he was sober, he’d do it anyway. If he froze to death, he’d just start over again. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

He didn’t wait for an answer but handed the bottle to her and began peeling his t-shirt off over his head as he headed for the lake.

What’s the worst that could happen? Hypothermia? Delilah laughed as Jefferson began to take off his clothes, tossing his shirt aside as he headed towards the lake. Holding the bottle in her hand, Delilah shook her head as Jefferson ventured further into the woods. Drinking more from the bottle — call it liquid courage — Delilah laughed and said, “Fuck it.” Slipping out of her shoes as she followed after Jefferson.

What else was there to do? Today had started out horrible but it seemed as though her night was starting to turn around. Do not end up in bed with him again, Delilah told herself as she shimmied out of her dress. She’d be strong, not allowing herself to feel any attraction towards Jefferson — even if he had a very nice ass.

Just as Delilah was about to take off her bra, a noise stopped her. She frowned, looking around only to be pushed to the side. Her eyes widened in shock as someone came rushing at Jefferson, dressed in dark clothing and...holy fuck — was that a knife in their hand? “Jefferson!” She shouted, trying to warn him.

He’d gotten one leg out of his jeans and was having trouble with the other as he hopped on crunchy, fallen leaves with a bare foot, when Delilah shouted his name. He turned his head in her direction only to see a dark blur moving toward him.

Having no time to react, Jefferson went down fast when the shape struck him in the side. His side was burning from hip to armpit like fire. Knowing that it had been a knife that had struck him from past experience, Jefferson clasped a hand to his side and groaned loudly as he pulled it back, sticky with blood. There was no point in yelling. Yes, it hurt, but in a distant way that the alcohol was surely numbing for now.

Delilah's hand clasped over her mouth, the bottle of tequila crashing on the ground as she watched the entire thing. Jefferson had just been stabbed! “What the fuck!?” She shouted, not knowing what to do. The man who had stabbed him was out of sight and Delilah began to fear for her life. Who the fuck just goes around and stabs someone? Was she in some sort of horror movie where the two stupid, horny adults end up getting murdered by a chainsaw toting murderer because they were too lust driven to notice? Fuck, fuck, fuck! She should have never gone to this goddamn wedding! Let alone be in it!

This was karma. It had to be! She slept with a married man and this is what happened to women who did that kind of thing! Or this was punishment for even being here! Why did she agree to be in this wedding? Fuck, this really was karma.

Jefferson knew he had to get away before it got worse and the crazed pawnbroker came after him again. “I thought we were friends, Gold,” he called out into the darkness, having no idea which way Gold had gone.

Fuck! It was hurting like a bitch now! Jefferson managed to get to his feet again and finally succeeded in ripping his pant leg off so he could press the material to the gaping wound in his side. “Delilah? Go back to the party,” he said, his voice wobbling through the sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through him. “Don’t follow me!”

Delilah couldn’t believe that Jefferson was telling her to leave him. He wanted her to go back to the wedding and not follow him. Was he running off into the woods to die? “Jefferson!” She shouted in annoyance. They both needed to get back to the wedding. Dr. Whale was there along with a few nurses! They could help.

The cave! It was near the lake. He had to get away. As much as he hated giving up, he couldn’t see Gold in the darkness and he would only keep striking until Jefferson was writhing in agony, that sadistic bastard. He ran as best he could with each step throbbing.

Another strike hit him in the leg and Jefferson went down again. Jefferson yelled into the ground. The pain in his leg was hurting so much that he couldn’t stand without falling again, so he crawled with his forearms toward the cave where this nightmare had all begun. He could hear a low chuckle in the darkness.

Delilah followed after Jefferson. Because she was apparently a fucking idiot. She heard him yelp in pain and Delilah picked up her speed to try and find him. She could see him! He was crawling on the ground towards a cave. Delilah looked around, hearing a low chuckle. Oh fuck, the killer was close. Delilah hurried to the cave to Jefferson. She had to get him out of here.

He crawled in the dirt as fast as he could manage with his side burning as it was. He could see the glowing light of salvation, or the pits of hell as it was. What mattered was that he was getting the fuck out of this day!

Almost there. And then he heard Delilah shouting his name behind him. “Don’t come in here!” he repeated over his shoulder. Almost there. It was getting harder to drag himself as the lethargy of death was washing over him. That was a comfort. It was almost over.

He felt the cave’s mysterious portal draw him in and it was over.

* * *

He opened his eyes.

The sun was shining through the sheer curtains of the Bed and Breakfast, Room 3, which Priscilla had rented for the night. Jefferson raised his head from the pillow to see Priscilla coming out of the en-suite bathroom wrapped in a towel.

He dropped his head back to the pillow and pressed his fingers into his eyes with a groan. Well, at least he had a chance to try all of that again and hope that Gold didn’t fucking interfere again. And this time, he wouldn’t go into the wedding drunk off his ass. He’d been having a good time with Delilah. The best yet, up until he’d been attacked.

“Excuse me if I’m disappointing you,” Priscilla snarked at Jefferson’s groan, thinking he had meant it for her. Whoops.

Jefferson rolled onto his side to correct Priscilla when she dropped her towel, smirking at him. He sighed. No. He had just said last night that he was done, done. Seeing her presenting herself like that only brought back the very clear image of her screaming out William’s name while his ex-friend pumped between her thighs. That was the entire reason she had decided to go to the wedding after all. To have a good reason to see William again. It was fine. He didn’t really care anymore.

“Eh,” Jefferson said dismissively, finally turning his eyes away. “Think I’ll get some breakfast. You hungry?” He knew Priscilla would take issue with being turned down like that.

“Excuse me?!”

He pulled on his pants that he’d left on the floor—the black jeans—and grabbed a jacket with a built in sweatshirt hood to pull on over his black tee. His sneakers were pulled on in a hurry because Priscilla was about to get really steamed up, then he grabbed his wallet and jogged for the door as the coffee pot was thrown at him.

If only he could wake up while she was in the shower to avoid this, but he never did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather short chapter here, but the next ones will be much longer. Enjoy!

* * *

Her eyes shot open at the sound of her phone dinging. Delilah rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. Her phone dinged again. _What happened last night?_ Everything was groggy. There was a knocking at her door. “Breakfast in five, Delilah.” 

Wait...how did she get into her room? Hadn't she just been — Jefferson! Holy shit! Delilah shot up in bed, not bothering to look down at her phone. Wait; she was naked? Delilah looked down at the floor and saw a dress crumpled in the corner. That wasn’t the dress she had worn to the wedding. Whatever! That didn’t matter! She needed to get to Jefferson. 

Delilah pulled on a shirt and underwear before she ran to the door, flinging it open only to freeze when she was met by Katherine. Delilah looked at the woman oddly, taking in the robe she wore that read ‘Maid of Honor.’’ Hadn’t she worn that yesterday morning? 

None of that mattered! 

“How did I get here?” Delilah asked Katherine. She remembered running into the cave after Jefferson and then everything else after that was a haze. She went into the cave and then...woke up. 

Katherine brushed off Delilah. “Have you written a speech?”

 _For what?_ Why was Katherine acting like a man hadn’t just been murdered hours earlier?! “What?”

“For the toast!” 

Delilah shook her head in frustration. “What the fuck are you talking about?” She said in anger. “What happened last night? How did I get here?” 

Katherine rolled her eyes. “Last I saw of you, you were leaving the dinner with some guy.”

“Dinner?” _What?_ “You mean the reception?” 

Katherine let out a long sigh. “Aurora told me you smoke,” she said under her breath. “Are you stoned? Last night was the _rehearsal_ dinner — not the reception. How high are you?” 

Delilah didn’t understand what was happening. She pushed past Katherine and headed down the stairs, still clad only in a shirt and underwear. 

Once she was downstairs, Delilah knocked into Granny, who then fell backwards, hands flinging out and smacked the person who was standing behind her. There was a scream of pain and then crying. Delilah watched as blood spilled out of Aurora's nose. 

Katherine let out a horrified scream behind Delilah. 

Aurora cried. “Is it bad?” 

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Katherine shook her head. “This can’t be happening! Not today! Not _today!”_

The blood all over Aurora’s hands brought Delilah back to reality. “Jefferson,” she whispered his name. 

“We can fix this,” Katherine told Delilah. “The wedding doesn’t start for another couple hours.” 

Wait... _wedding?_

Delilah felt someone helping her stand up. Granny was apologizing to Aurora, trying to offer solutions. 

“What the hell happened?” 

Delilah saw now that the person who had helped her up was none other than Jefferson’s wife, Priscilla. “Oh, gross,” she said, seeing Aurora’s bloody face. 

“Jefferson,” Delilah breathed out. “Is Jefferson okay?” She asked Priscilla. Surely she’d know, right? 

“He’s fine,” Priscilla said in annoyance as she looked at Delilah suspiciously, hands now on her hips. “And _how_ exactly do you know my husband?” 

He’s _fine?_

What the fuck did she mean by _he’s fine?_ He’s been stabbed! “Why aren’t you wearing any _pants?_ ” Priscilla asked next, her tone angry. “Were you just with him — that son of a bitch! Breakfast my _ass!_ ” She huffed. “Listen here you little homewrecker!” 

“Homewrecker?” Delilah shook her head, angry now. “You’re the one fucking his best friend!” Priscilla went ghostly pale. And then she raised her hand to slap Delilah across the face. 

“Fuck!” Delilah hissed. 

“Delilah!” Katherine said in shock. “You slept with Jefferson last night?” 

Aurora was still crying and Delilah was more than confused. “My wedding is ruined!” 

Wedding? 

“What the fuck?” Delilah whispered in confusion. Seriously — what the hell was happening? 

  
  


* * *

Jefferson had been sitting at the counter eating a short stack of pancakes with a blissfully hot cup of coffee in hand. If he had the hangover from hell, it would have been just the thing he needed. Of course, he didn’t have a hangover as he should--just a bit of a headache--because nothing physical ever affected him in the morning. That certainly didn’t keep him from over indulging every day, but he had already decided he was staying sober until the wedding at least. 

Victor was waxing poetic in the seat next to him about his plans for the evening. Jefferson wasn’t really listening. He’d heard the same plans ten thousand times at least, but it was still a comfort to have the white noise to drown out the negative ghosts of the pain he had been suffering through the previous evening. By all rights, he should be curled up in a ball on the floor of the asylum right now. 

But for now, he had coffee, pancakes, and a jovial counter mate filling his senses. “Yeah, man,” Jefferson nodded. His eyes were closed behind his sunglasses as the morning rays shined through the front window. “I think you should go for it,” Jefferson told Victor.

There was a sudden scream coming from the vicinity of the bathrooms and the stairs to the BnB and Jefferson turned his head to look in curiosity. 

That had never happened before.

Victor was up in a moment, jogging toward the women who were all screaming and chattering. Good thing Jefferson didn’t have a hangover. He focused on his pancakes again and stabbed the last bite and chewed slowly, savoring the sweetness.

And then he heard _his_ name. ‘ _You slept with Jefferson last night?’_

Puzzled, Jefferson turned his head back again to look and raised his sunglasses from his eyes with a forefinger. Delilah had been slapped by Priscilla and Jefferson’s mouth opened in surprise. That definitely had never happened before. He wondered what events had changed to cause that to happen. 

He dropped a ten on the counter and stood from his stool to get a better look at what was going on. Victor was embracing Aurora with her smashed nose. Jefferson grimaced. That was going to cause the entire day to change. A little guiltily, Jefferson was eager to actually see what would transpire. It wasn’t every day that the wedding was cancelled. Maybe the madness he was spiraling into would abate for today. What a great thought!

His eyes moved from Aurora and Victor to look at Delilah. 

She wasn’t wearing pants. 

This was all very new and it amused him. He tilted his head, confused, and looked at her with an expression that asked ‘ _what the hell are you doing?’_

Delilah froze in place when she saw Jefferson standing a few feet away. He had a confused yet amused expression on his face. She was at his side in an instant. Wild eyes scanning him head to toe — how was he even standing right now? The last she saw of him he had been bleeding to death. Her hands moved to the hoodie he wore, pulling it up to look at his side. _Nothing._ She shook her head, not understanding. 

Jefferson was more than shocked as he stood there simply watching Delilah as she pulled his clothing up to look at his torso. _Wait._ She couldn’t remember… He reached out and poked her to see if this was real. Yep. He wasn’t imagining this. 

“Seriously?” Priscilla yelled. “Get your damn hands _off_ of him!” 

Delilah wanted nothing more than to tell Jefferson’s wife to fuck off. But she was too confused. What was going on? Why was everyone acting like the wedding hadn’t already happened? Why was Jefferson alive? Why was this all happening? 

“How the fuck are you even alive right now _?”_ Her eyes narrowed in a glare as she looked at Jefferson, memories flashing in her head of going inside the cave after Jefferson — something had _sucked_ her in. Jefferson had been yelling for her not to follow him, there was a glowing light and then… 

“What the fuck did you do to me?” Delilah said in anger.

His eyes flew wide. “Me?” he asked, incredulously. “You followed me! I told you not to!”

 _Seriously?_ He was mad that she followed him? That was — that was absurd! 

It only registered to Jefferson now that Priscilla was practically screeching as she tried to grab at his clothing over a wailing Aurora and Victor who was trying to defend her from further attacks. Even Katherine was trying to keep Priscilla back. 

“Delilah! What are you doing?! Help me!” Katherine wailed. 

It was almost comical that Priscilla would act possessive of him now. Oh wait. She hadn’t screwed around on him today yet. But she would. She always did. “Say hi to William for me,” he told Priscilla. That shut her up for the moment.

Jefferson shrugged out of his jacket and shoved it at Delilah. “Come on,” he told her as he hurried for the front door. There was a side entrance to the BnB and he needed to get away from the wailing so he could think!

Delilah could hardly register what was happening behind them but when Jefferson gave her his coat, she took it, the jacket covering most of her lower half. 

“I cannot believe you’re picking this hussy over me!” Priscilla yelled. “You are so going to regret this, Jefferson!” _No, he wouldn’t._ He was more concerned over the woman with his jacket.

In fact, he was more scared now than he had been the night before when he was being attacked from the shadows. Delilah was stuck too? Would she hate him for eternity now like Gold did? His eyes were wide as he jogged out the door and into the cool morning air and the bright sunlight. Groaning, he dropped his sunglasses back over his eyes and looked around himself as Delilah caught up. What the fuck was going on? She had to have followed him. Why would she do that? 

  
  


* * *

Delilah followed him out of the BnB, the cold air causing her to shiver. She really should have put on some pants. Jefferson looked worried. “What is going on, Jefferson? Was that whole thing last night some sort of...act?” The blood. So much blood. It must have been fake. “A prank? Am I being pranked? Because everyone is running around like it’s...yesterday.” She shook her head in confusion. 

Delilah looked at Jefferson suspiciously. “Why did that cave glow?” She asked. “And why didn’t you want me to follow you? You had just been _stabbed_! I wasn’t going to leave you to die!” 

Jefferson ran his hand through his hair in agitation. Now Delilah was yelling at him and he was trying to think coherently so he could explain without making this worse. “You’re not being pranked, okay?” He said abruptly while pacing. “It _is_ yesterday. Or today rather. And tomorrow will be today too. And the day after that. I told you, I’m living in Hell.” He looked at Delilah, grimacing. “And so are you now.”

He turned toward the BnB side door and held the door for Delilah. “I don’t know what that cave is except that it’s like a Restart Button. You fall in the portal, you wake up to this morning. You fall asleep, you wake up to this morning. You die?” He shrugged, hoping he’d made his point.

He was touched that she seemed to care so much that she would follow him even with an apparent murderer after him. She had to be just as crazy as he was and maybe that endeared her to him just a little more. He wasn't completely alone anymore. “The thing is, even though I restarted, pain is very real. I remember what it felt like,” he gingerly touched his perfectly intact ribs, “to be slashed. It fucking hurts to die slowly.”

His face lit up and he smiled upon realizing something. “But on the bright side, the next time you wake up again, Aurora’s nose won’t be crushed!”

“In the...on the _bright side?”_ She huffed out, shaking her head as she tried to absorb everything Jefferson just said. They were living in some sort of time paradox. _Groundhog Day!_ That stupid fucking movie that her dad loved so much. No. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Jefferson was right. This _was_ Hell. Or... it was something else. She must be in Purgatory. “That guy must have killed me last night.” Delilah decided. “And I...I need to repent or some shit.” 

Delilah walked into the BnB, heading back to her room.

There was a Bible in there — surely it’d tell her how to repent. Oh! The nuns! She should go see them! “I’m getting the hell out of here.” She mumbled as she walked into her room, not bothering to close the door behind her if Jefferson had decided to follow her. She pulled on a pair of jeans and looked at her phone. _December 31st — 3 new messages._ She shook her head, knowing who they were from. Delilah didn’t bother opening them. 

While he was confused about what Delilah thought she needed to repent over, he followed her up the stairs and into her rented room. “That won’t help,” he told her, shrugging. “Repenting. You’re stuck, I’m stuck, and Gold is stuck. And he might have killed you—I didn’t see—but you’re very much alive. Like I said, pain is real.”

He was further amused by her saying she was getting the hell out of here. As if he hadn’t tried everything!

Flopping on her bed as if it was his too—and he could appreciate the fact that he had slept in this bed so very, very long ago, but recently to her—he watched what she was doing and wondered what she thought might help her escape.

“Why are you just laying there?” Delilah glared, seeing him in her bed. It was odd, seeing as how just yesterday she had woken up to find he had snuck out of her bed— or, _today._ Jesus this was confusing. “I refuse to do _nothing._ You may have come to terms with this hell we’re in,” she grumbled. “But I’m finding a way to get out of here. I am not going to relive this day — I can’t.” Her phone dinged in her hand and Delilah inhaled deeply. She knew what it would read: ‘ _Please, D. Can we meet up?’_

Nope. She was not about to give that same pep talk. She was not going to do _anything_ that she did yesterday. There was no need to wallow in self pity that the man she slept with had snuck out on her, no fleeting thoughts of getting back together with Derek, and definitely _not_ going to the groom’s bedroom to convince him that marrying Aurora was the right move for him. Nope. She was getting the hell out of here.

“Are you coming with me?” Delilah asked Jefferson, grabbing her keys and purse. 

It was all just a matter of time, Jefferson figured. Coming to terms with it all was inevitable. But at least she wasn’t still blaming him for getting her stuck here. She wasn’t going to be like Gold. What a relief.

“Absolutely,” he told Delilah with a lot more cheer in his voice than was probably necessary. He was entirely entertained. This day was likely going to be the most different one he’d had yet, and he couldn’t wait. It was almost like being gifted an entirely new day. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter trigger warnings: Religion, Piercings, Tattoos, Mention of death

* * *

Delilah hugged Jefferson's jacket around herself once they were outside, the brisk breeze blowing her hair back as she looked for where she had parked her car. 

Something that Jefferson said earlier replayed in her head. _Gold_ was stuck here? The shady pawn broker? “Wait, how did Gold find himself in this mess?” Delilah asked, spotting her car down the block. She walked in its direction. “I assume the whole murder attempt last night wasn’t just some game you two play to pass time.” At least she hoped it wasn’t. 

She didn’t really know anything about Jefferson, maybe this all _was_ a game to him. And now she was stuck in Purgatory with him. _Great._ “And how did _you_ end up here?” The cave, obviously. But what led him to the cave? 

Once they were in front of the car, Delilah unlocked the doors so they could get in.

Jefferson waited until he was buckled in Delilah’s car before he answered her question. He pushed the seat back for some leg room and so he could just relax. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing story despite the content.

Sniffing, he looked out the windshield as he explained. “It was in the beginning. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of it all, was still feeling my way through this repetitious day and I was very curious. I told so many people what was happening to me. Most laughed and called me crazy and dismissed me. Gold didn’t.”

He shrugged as he added, “It might have helped that we were completely high on shrooms at the time.” He grinned at Delilah already knowing how she felt about that indulgence. “Gold seemed to reach enlightenment or something and… he said that I… messed up.” It was still hard to explain what he actually remembered anyway. “I made a mistake and have to find… my ‘ _twue wuv’_ and True Love’s Kiss would break my curse.” Jefferson giggled as he mocked the way Gold had said it that long ago night. 

Delilah sat back in her seat, listening to Jefferson explain everything. _True Love’s Kiss?_ There was no such thing. Gold must have been super high to come up with that one. 

“It’s total horseshit,” Jefferson continued, “and we laughed it off, and laughed and laughed. I think there was more than just shrooms that night; it’s hard to remember by now. Anyway, I ended up showing him the cave and the portal. Big mistake.” His eyes rounded as he blew out his breath. “He’s been coming after me ever since to make me pay for damning him as well. Not every day. Or every week… I think? The concept of time is pretty lost on me by now.”

He looked at Delilah. “I never wanted someone else to come into this with me. I’m sorry.”

His apology caused Delilah to finally look over at him. She could see the guilt in his eyes. He truly meant it, that much was clear. “Well,” she sighed. “You don’t have to worry about me trying to kill you at any point,” Delilah told him. “Actually, I can’t promise that. If I’m still stuck here after a hundred days, I might want to kill you,” she said, joking or course. Delilah smiled slightly before looking back at the road as she turned on her car. “But I don’t plan on being stuck here that long. “I’m getting us the fuck out of here,” she said, pulling onto the road and heading into the direction of the only church in Storybrooke. 

Jefferson could only smile at Delilah when she seemed to truly believe she was going to get them out of this loop. He didn’t believe it but it was nice for her to imagine it possible. False hopes were too close to the path to madness though, so he said nothing. 

“If you kill me, you’ll just have to deal with me again the next day,” he joked, not at all put off by her threat.

“You never answered my question, by the way.” Delilah said as she drove. “How did you end up in the cave?” 

“Oh.” Realizing he hadn’t answered one of her questions, he slumped down in the seat again. “It’s pretty fuzzy by now.” He chewed on his lip as he furrowed his brow. “I just remember being really angry about something and wandered away from the reception. The cave was there and I went in.” He shrugged. “I never should have left.” If there was any accuracy to what Gold had told him about making a mistake, that was the only thing he could think of that had been a mistake on the very first December 31st—the memory of walking away. “The more times I repeat this day, the less I remember about the beginning. Or before that…”

“Have you tested Gold’s theory?” Delilah asked. “True Love’s Kiss and all that bullshit?” She didn’t believe that was the only way out of here; if so, why hadn’t Gold done that and escaped? It was just a stoned man’s rambling. “Who have you kissed so far?” He could cross her and Priscilla off that list. Clearly they weren’t his True Love — what if _she_ had to find her True Love? No, the whole concept of True Love was ridiculous. “Not that I believe any of that,” she added. But she was curious to see if Jefferson had tried. 

Jefferson didn’t remember much about the beginning — or before that. He remembered their time together, or, remembered that they had slept together. It was still fresh to her. She could recall every moment with him; would that fade, too? A part of her hoped it would. Waking up alone had hurt, seeing Jefferson with his wife had hurt even more. Would she feel that pain every morning she woke up? 

Fuck. She really has to get out of this. 

Delilah pulled up to the church. “You coming in or staying?” She said, looking over at him. 

Jefferson got out of the car with Delilah and walked with her as he thought back. “Well, Ruby, of course.” He’d told her about that mess already. “And I actually kissed Granny once too at the stroke of midnight. She’s handsy.” He grinned cheekily at Delilah. “Oh, let’s see. Emma, twice; Mary Margaret—her husband caught us and I actually died. He choked me with my own scarf, so that's why I don't wear them anymore. There was Victor Whale, but that was an accident. I thought he was someone else and I was drunk. So was he.” Jefferson chewed on the inside of his cheek puzzling over that one. He couldn’t even remember who he thought he was talking to before it went too far. Oh well. It didn’t even matter now.

“You get around,” Delilah said with a laugh. Granny was handsy? A part of her wished she could have seen that. 

Clearly, Jefferson was persuasive if he managed to get Mary-Margaret to kiss him. And Emma! Twice! Not to mention Granny. Delilah couldn’t help but chuckle again when she thought of Jefferson kissing Whale. Victor was a whore; he’d get into bed with anyone that had a beating pulse. It didn’t surprise her that Jefferson kissed him, even if he thought it was someone else. 

They were walking up to the church and he looked up, remembering and snapped his finger. “Oh yeah, and Mother Superior! _She_ was drunk on communion wine.” There were a slew of others that he didn’t even know the names of. “I was really desperate to get out of this day in the beginning so I’ve kissed damn near everyone that even spoke to me.”

“I suppose we can cross those people off the list — and of course me and Priscilla,” she added. 

Jefferson looked over at Delilah when she said they could cross her and Priscilla off the list. His brow furrowed. While he hadn’t kissed Delilah since that night that he could never repeat, he hadn’t assumed that it would count. But he figured she was right; he wouldn’t be in this mess if it had been Delilah. And anyway, he didn’t really believe Gold was right anymore. It was just random musings from a stoned sadist.

“What about Aurora?” Delilah smirked. “Ever tried it with the bride?” 

Jefferson inclined his chin. “I tried with Aurora. She shut me down fast. She’s not my type anyway. Too vanilla.”

“I guess I can start trying tonight,” Delilah mused. Not because she believed it, but mostly because she might as well have some fun while she was stuck here. She looked at Jefferson for a moment. They couldn’t hook up during this. That was the last thing they needed to do. Especially if Delilah couldn’t figure out how to get them out of this mess right away. It would be too awkward. Besides; Jefferson had chosen Priscilla. Delilah hadn’t forgotten that. Not yet anyway. 

Delilah’s suggestion that _she_ would try tonight almost made Jefferson trip on the flat pavement as he looked at her again. She was looking at him too as he thought. While he assumed he had been the one to inadvertently start this whole fiasco, he hadn’t thought that she might be able to break the curse. It was not about True Love. It was just a living hell. Nothing could be done to fix or end it. That was it.

“Miss Mason,” Mother Superior greeted Delilah. 

Jefferson turned his head to see Mother Superior as she addressed Delilah. The corner of Jefferson’s mouth inclined a fraction as he looked at the nun’s mouth.

Delilah bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from laughing. Jefferson had _just_ told her that he had gotten the nun to kiss him while she was drunk on communion wine. 

“What brings you here today?” She asked, briefly, looking at Jefferson. 

“Purgatory,” Delilah said, causing Mother Superior to blink in surprise. 

_Purgatory._ Yes, that was a better name for this limbo. It wasn’t all Hell. Sometimes, he had a damn good time. And he was going to on this particular day, too.

“Well...come on in.” Mother Superior gestured for them to follow. 

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Jefferson made himself comfortable in the chair offered by Mother Superior and set his ankle on his knee, his hands clasped in his lap. He watched the nun as she spoke to Delilah. He’d done all of this before--trying to get divine help for this unique situation--but it would be interesting to hear what Delilah might say and do differently. 

He was also interested in seeing if he could get Mother Superior to react to him again. 

He grinned as he watched her. When she turned to address him, he ran his tongue across his teeth slowly. The nun stopped speaking abruptly as she blinked. Too bad she couldn’t remember how he’d nibbled on her ear. She had liked that. If he could just get her to blush… And bingo! He set his teeth into his bottom lip as he grinned triumphantly. She was shifting uncomfortably in her seat and looking anywhere but at Jefferson, rambling as she tried to recall what she had been saying. It was a bit difficult not to laugh.

“I think you have the devil in your midst, Miss Mason,” Mother Superior said sharply as she shot a quick glare at Jefferson before averting her eyes again and making the sign of the cross.

Delilah watched the exchange between Mother Superior and Jefferson, having to look to the side to hide her amused smile when the nun told her that she believed Jefferson was a devil in her midst. 

Mother Superior then continued to explain Purgatory and its meaning in depth. “You are clearly troubled, Miss Mason. Perhaps a visit to confession will help ease any...temptations you might be having that would lead you to believe that you will be sent to Purgatory.” 

Delilah's eyes narrowed slightly. “Hypothetically speaking, what if _this_ is Purgatory?” 

“You believe that Storybrooke is Purgatory?” 

“Yes, and no. This _day,_ ” Delilah corrected. “December 31st.” 

Mother Superior pinched the bridge of her nose. “And why does this significant date make you believe that you are in Purgatory?” 

“Because this is the second time I’ve lived it.” She looked to Jefferson. “And his…I don’t know how many days he’s relived today,” Delilah said, waving it off. “Has Purgatory ever been described as a time loop of sorts?”

“Time loop?” Mother Superior repeated. 

“Like the movie _Groundhog's Day_.” Delilah clarified. 

“There’s no such thing as _time loops,_ Delilah. This isn’t Purgatory — this isn’t Hell.” She looked to Jefferson for a moment. “I think that perhaps you have had one too many drinks last night at the rehearsal dinner.” 

Rude. 

“I would still highly recommend going to confession.” 

Delilah rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. “Thanks for nothing.” She huffed in annoyance as she walked out of the room. Delilah needed to get to a computer. Why the _hell_ did she think going to someone of faith would be helpful? “What a judgmental bitch,” she muttered once they were both outside. “She needs to get laid.” Maybe then she’d unclench a little and the stick stuck up her ass would fall out. “Science is the answer,” Delilah said. “Have you done any research on time loops? Or have you just been trying to get into the pants of every person in Storybrooke?” That was mean. But Delilah was annoyed. Not with Jefferson, but the situation. 

Jefferson’s eyebrows rose when she accused him of trying to have sex with everyone. How dare she judge him! “I have standards,” he retorted, grimacing as he looked away. Maybe they weren’t very high standards, but he wasn’t trying to jump everyone. 

Did she think he wasn’t taking this seriously? That he hadn’t tried what she has suggested? That he was solely here for the fun of it all?

“Oh no, I haven’t given time loops a thought,” he said sarcastically. “I’ve been trying to stay as sane as possible through this madness. Insanity is doing the same actions over and over and expecting different results. My goal is to purposely change this day each time even if it seems pointless because nothing I’ve done matters to anyone but me.” 

_Until now._ The flare of irascibility subsided a little in his eyes as he looked at Delilah. She was stuck because of him. With a little less heat in his tone, he continued. “So pardon me if I’m trying to find a little entertainment to lighten the situation. It may seem like a waste of time to you, but I don’t want to end up catatonic and drooling on myself in the asylum.”

He leaned back against the light pole as he looked away from Delilah. 

_Great._ She had pissed him off. Delilah felt a twinge of guilt for what she had said. However, she was incredibly stubborn. Was she annoyed with Jefferson for fucking around while living in a literal nightmare of a time loop? How could she be? It was his only way from not going insane. 

But did she like to think that day after day during this time loop, Jefferson had gone and hooked up with a different person each night? No. She didn’t. This was still very fresh to her; it had been _one day_ since they slept together and he left her in the middle of the night. It might not have meant anything to him, but it had to her. Of course, she wasn’t going to say anything. Delilah was proud, she wasn’t going to admit that her feelings were hurt. Not to him at least. Maybe Mother Superior was right; maybe she did need to go to confession. 

Delilah sighed, running her hand down her face. “I’m going to my apartment,” she told Jefferson. “Do you need a ride back to the BnB?” She asked. Maybe going their separate ways was the best idea for both of them. She doubted there was going to be a wedding tonight, not unless Aurora’s nose had been magically fixed. Not even the most skilled plastic surgeon could likely fix that. 

Maybe she should apologize? 

Delilah shrugged off Jefferson’s jacket instead, walking over to him to give it back. Her skin was instantly covered in goosebumps from the chill in the air. 

“I’ll walk. Thanks,” he said, taking his offered jacket and tucking it under his arm. He doubted her optimism about a tomorrow, but didn’t exactly want to tell her again that she was wrong. Beating the proverbial dead horse and all that wasn't his idea of fun. The idea that she was wrong and that it would inevitably restart like always sent a very depressing wave of sorrow through him. 

“Maybe today was different enough that tomorrow _will_ come,” she said, trying to sound optimistic. If it didn’t come...well, Delilah would find another way. 

“Sure,” was all he said as he turned away, not wanting to look Delilah in the eyes or she would see how very, very lonely he was. “Maybe I’ll see you at the wedding. Or whatever happens with Aurora.” He’d forgotten about her broken nose. That was a thought to focus on. His curiosity piqued, he turned and walked toward downtown, wondering how the day would progress.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
He had left. 

Delilah inhaled deeply as she drove in the opposite direction of where Jefferson was walking, gripping tightly to the steering wheel. She listened to the song on the radio — it was the same song she heard yesterday on her way to speak with Phillip. 

She frowned, keeping one hand on the steering wheel as she used the other to dig through her purse to grab her phone. Phillip had been messaging her all morning asking to meet. _Yesterday,_ she had gone to see him. Delilah sat with him while he let out all his anxieties about the wedding, listened as he brought up their short lived past romance from years ago and told him that _no,_ there was nothing left between them that should cause him to stop the wedding. He was just _scared._ Phillips' life was about to change forever and Delilah understood his anxiety. But she also knew that Phillip loved Aurora more than he could have _ever_ loved her. They had been young and stupid. Two horny teenagers who fell into bed together before they met _the one._

Delilah thought of Derek. Was he _the one_ for her? That’s what she had always thought before he abruptly ended things between them. 

Phone in hand, Delilah looked down at her latest text. 

_‘Weddings postponed — P’_

Delilah frowned, tossing her phone back into her purse. She needed to find Derek. 

Turning onto the road that would take her to their shared apartment, Delilah couldn’t help but think of Jefferson. He must have been so confused that first day, not having anyone to explain to him what was going on. She was honestly surprised he hadn’t gone mad yet. His way of coping with this situation was how he was able to survive. Delilah shouldn’t have judged him. It was her ego that had been bruised, she didn’t need to knock down his ego either. 

Pulling up to the apartment building, Delilah sat in her car for a moment. She had been staying at Granny’s BnB for a week now, even before the wedding party checked in. Would Derek even be happy to see her? They had ended it for good, pulled the plug on their relationship, called time of death, ended the rebound booty calls. Delilah had even started looking at apartments to rent so that she could officially move out. It was _over._ Yet here she was, about to test Gold’s ridiculous theory.

“What are you doing?” Delilah whispered to herself, shaking her head. 

This isn't right. This wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Delilah knew deep down in her very stubborn heart that she needed to make things right with Jefferson. They were stuck in this mess and Delilah didn’t want to go through it alone. 

Delilah grabbed her phone, dialing Granny’s BnB but got no answer. She frowned, dialing the diner next. 

_“Granny’s diner,”_ she answered, sounding like she was in a _pleasant_ mood. 

“Granny, it’s Delilah. By chance, have you seen Jefferson...uh,”--shit, what was his last name? “Have you seen Jefferson?” 

Granny huffed. _“Yup.”_

“Is he there?” 

_“Yup,”_ she said again, sounding even more irritated if possible. _“I suggest you come pick him up before I put an arrow in his ass.”_

Oh. 

He must be with Ruby again. 

Delilah cleared her throat, trying not to be offended. _“Delilah?”_ Granny said after she was met with silence. 

“Uh, yeah. I’m on my way,” she told her, starting up her car. “Try and give the guy a break,” Delilah said next, pulling onto the road. “It’s been a rough day.” 

_“It’s only 11 AM. How rough could it possibly be?”_

Delilah shook her head. “Just please don’t shoot him,” she said before hanging up. 

Soon enough she was at Granny’s diner, bracing herself to see Jefferson with Ruby. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Granny’s Diner was hopping with people all buzzing about the drama of the day. The wedding was postponed to January 2nd—Jefferson snorted cynically—but since all the guests were here, to come and join everyone for a bonfire in the vacant lot behind Granny’s and the BnB. 

A bonfire...That could be entertaining. 

Jefferson made a mental note to stay the fuck away from the woods. He didn’t want a repeat of the previous night and if Gold was in attendance, to make sure he had someone else nearby. The crazed pawnbroker didn’t usually go after him in public. 

Feeling giddy about the prospect of an entirely new evening to experience, he ate his lunch with more optimism than he’d felt since that morning when he realized Delilah was the one stuck in this reality with him. He wondered if she would attend as well, but then felt soured when he remembered that she intended to test Gold’s theory of kissing everyone in sight. Except for Jefferson, of course. She wouldn’t kiss him; never had again. He dropped his forehead to the countertop twice which made his fork rattle on his plate.

“What’s got you so blue? Can I help?” Jefferson looked up to see Ruby tilting her head as she smiled at him, leaning over the counter, her hip jutting out to the side, blue eyes imploring him to smile. He sighed. It wasn’t just himself that sought out company, _Delilah,_ he thought, still a little put out over her accusation earlier. Sometimes, they come to him.

“How about a drink?” He asked, pasting a smile on his face, not really caring to remain sober for the rest of the day. Ruby said she knew just the right pick-me-up and poured him a Red Bull and Vodka. 

After Ruby brought the first and then second of the mixed drinks and set them on the counter for Jefferson with a bright smile, her fingers began to flirt with the sleeve of Jefferson’s jacket. Eventually, she was facing him and he was facing her, when her Granny had very loudly complained about loiterers in the diner. He grinned in his drink, eyeing Granny carefully before cutting his eyes back to Ruby. As long as the feisty old woman remained away from her cash register and her crossbow which was hidden below it, then he would be fine.

“You going to the bonfire?” Ruby asked him. 

Jefferson nodded. “As long as you are,” he told her.

Granny cleared her throat loudly and threw a plate behind the counter. It struck the floor and the diner silenced for a moment. “Clean up on Aisle One!” Granny shouted at Ruby.

Ruby sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “See you later then.” But Ruby didn’t stray too far away. She tended other tables and every time she went behind the counter again, she would trail her fingers along Jefferson’s back or along his arm just to remind him that she was there. It was nice because Jefferson didn’t feel alone then. But Granny didn’t miss a beat.

When the phone rang for the dinner, Jefferson was starting on his third drink. His heart was racing from the caffeine, alcohol, and sugar combo and he was starting to think he might actually need to get out of the diner before he got too hyper. And then the threat rang out when Granny said the word _crossbow._ Jefferson’s eyes widened, remembering suddenly how it felt to have a high speed arrow strike him hard in the glute. He had fallen on the asphalt and not only had a bleeding ass, but a busted face. 

“Shit,” he whispered. Delilah was coming. Well, that could be a good thing or a bad thing. If she was going to harangue him again, he would just fuck off now. He got up from the stool and dropped some cash for the cake and alcohol he had consumed when Ruby put her hand over his.

“Don’t let Granny scare you off. She would never follow through on a threat like that.” Her eyes shot a glare at her grandmother. 

“Hah…” Jefferson laughed nervously. “Never say never.” He looked cautiously at the old woman. “You’re a sweetheart, Ruby, but I’ll have to take a rain check on the bonfire.”

“No, you won’t,” Granny interrupted with a fist on her hip.

Jefferson planted a kiss on Ruby’s cheek and said, “Thank you,” to her for bringing him out of the slump he’d been in and left out the front of the diner.

He saw Delilah’s car pulling up to the front and he approached. Bending over, with his hands on his knees, he looked into the car at Delilah. “How’d your kiss-a-thon go? Did you have a good lay?” He called loudly so she’d hear him through the glass. A few people walking by on the sidewalk gasped or giggled but Jefferson paid no attention to them. It had only been about half an hour since they had parted ways, but he didn’t expect to see her so soon. 

Delilah shook her head, rolling down her window. “Oh yeah, it was great.” She lied, motioning for Jefferson to get into the car. She wanted to apologize to him, but not with all these people gawking. “Marco really knows how to make a girl work for it,” Delilah said. “Not as good as Ruby, I’m sure. But maybe I’ll hit her up after you’ve had your go at her again,” she joked, hoping Jefferson wouldn’t take offense. 

Jefferson was frowning at Odette until she mentioned Marco. He grinned and dipped his head, laughing. “Okay, you got me for a moment there.” 

Delilah sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I,” _was insecure and jealous?_ No. He didn’t need to know that. “—was a dick. This whole thing is just...so fucked up. You have been doing what you’ve had to in order to keep sane...I shouldn’t have judged. And I won’t. Ever again,” she added. “You’re free to fuck whoever you want. Even Granny.” Delilah smirked. 

He accepted her apology as he buckled himself into the seat but he listened as she said he was free to fuck whoever he wanted. Well, damn! That had been unexpected. Hadn’t he already been free to do as he wanted? And then he realized. He had hurt Delilah by how he had been acting. To her, it was still just the day—or two—after he had left her room to go back to Priscilla. She was witnessing and hearing from him about how he was sleeping around with other people after her so she might have thought he felt very little for her. He said nothing about it, but decided he’d be more observant around her. Maybe. 

“I heard the wedding is postponed,” she said next. “You free?” Hopefully canceling the wedding meant that a new day would begin tomorrow. It was hours until midnight, might as well make the most of the time they had left. What sort of mischief could they get into while they waited? 

“I’m free,” he answered Delilah's question with an easy smile as he dropped his sunglasses from the top of his head to shield his eyes. “But I’ll warn you. I drank a lot of Red Bull and vodka in the past half hour so we should do something exciting… before I pass out and restart this day.”

Delilah laughed, shaking her head. “I’m still holding onto hope that when I wake up; it will be January 1st.” She said this honestly as she pulled away from Granny’s Diner. “Well, skinny dipping was an epic fail,” she reminded him. “With you getting stabbed and everything,” Delilah said casually. What could they do? “Probably shouldn’t rob any banks.” She said as they passed the only bank in town. _If_ tomorrow came, she didn’t want to end up arrested by Emma Swan as soon as she woke up. 

“No, robbing the bank is just too ethically wrong and stuff like that sticks in the mind even if nothing else does.” He shook his head as he watched the buildings pass by. 

“Tattoos!” She said suddenly. “We should get tattoos!” She already had one tattoo; waking up with another tattoo beat waking up in jail. “Or piercings!” Delilah suggested. Delilah had multiple piercings, but they were all on her ears. Derek _hated_ whenever she came home with a spot on her ear pierced. But Delilah loved the feeling. “You should get your nipples pierced.” 

When she suggested tattoos, Jefferson grinned. Piercings? He shook his head, laughing. Her ideas now weren’t as wild as bank robbery, but that wasn’t what he had in mind for exciting. And then… “Nipple piercing?” He laughed as he looked at Delilah to see if she was serious. Was she? Well, it wouldn’t matter in the long run, would it? And he did want to do something completely different each day. So he shrugged. “Okay, why not?” 

* * *

Once he sat down in the plastic-covered seat, the energy coursing through him from the Red Bull was at a peak. Plus he was nervous. “Um,” he started as he fidgeted in the seat. “Is this going to hurt a lot? I’m not into pain…”

“Relax, honey,” the piercing specialist said. “I do this all the time. Shirt off.” There was music playing that should be relaxing but Jefferson felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. Relaxing was easier said than done.

“Well, I don’t,” Jefferson said. He peeled his t-shirt off and cringed at Delilah. 

“It will only hurt for a second,” the piercer said. “And then, your nipples will be highly sensitized. You’ll probably like it.”

Jefferson laughed nervously. 

“Oh, he’ll like it.” Delilah grinned. She could tell that Jefferson was nervous, the man was practically vibrating in the chair. She chuckled, grabbing a hold of his hand. “Squeeze as hard as you need to,” she told him, her other hand rubbing along his arm to show him comfort. “But you’ve got to stay still. The last thing you need is your nipple ripped off.” She said in a serious tone, though she was only joking.

Oh god. Jefferson was suddenly much more nervous than before. Why did she have to say that!? Nipples being ripped off sounded straight out of a horror movie. His wide eyes flew to watching the piercer’s hands as he came closer and stepped on a pedal which made the chair recline. 

The man who was getting ready to pierce Jefferson's nipples laughed loudly, shaking his head. “You ready?” He asked Jefferson, finished cleaning the area. 

“Fuck,” Jefferson whispered. “Yeah, I guess,” he added, doubtfully.

“Do it.” Delilah instructed. 

“You next?” The man smirked at Delilah. 

“Not from your sausage fingers.” She made a face. 

All the patting of his arm and squeezing of his hand Delilah was doing was no comfort at all. Especially when she insulted the man holding the needle at his flesh.

Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. Because the guy looked irritated now and Delilah watched with wide eyes as he roughly stabbed the needle through Jefferson’s left nipple, causing her to cringe at the sight. 

The stabbing pain caused his hips to jerk as he yelled. “FUCK! Why, Delilah? God damn it!”

Delilah dropped her hand from Jefferson’s arm and quickly covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Maybe that was punishment enough for Jefferson leaving her in bed to go back to his wife. Not that she was trying to punish him per se, but his reaction was quite funny. 

“Oops. My sausage fingers must have slipped,” the piercer said flatly. Clearly that was a lie. “Don’t be such a baby. That one is done,” the man said to Jefferson as he smirked wickedly at Delilah as if _she_ was the one that had just been abused. His fingers were moving fast as he slipped a straight bar through the nipple.

“Okay, I’m done.” Jefferson was nervously laughing as he looked down at the silver bar. His left pec was reddening in an anxiety blemish. Maybe he was going to faint. His heart was pounding blood behind his eardrums, but still he tried to sit up.

Apparently, Jefferson was wrong. The piercer pushed his torso so that he was reclined again. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? Let’s just get the other over with.”

The piercer wasn’t letting Jefferson get out of the second one and Delilah pressed her lips together to try and fight an amused smile. She needed to give Jefferson a pep talk. “Eye contact,” she motioned with her fingers for Jefferson to look her in the eyes. “You were literally _stabbed_ to death yesterday.” She reminded him. 

The piercer looked at them oddly. “The fuck?” He whispered. 

Jefferson glared at Delilah. “Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting _that_ ,” Jefferson retorted. Being slashed up his side and his leg too did hurt a hell of a lot more, now that she put it that way. But he did agree to do this. Maybe he was being a baby. 

“You can handle a needle going through your nipple,” she promised him. “And if you do this,” she smirked. “I will let you pick out my tattoo.” It would be justice. “And _where_ I get my tattoo.” She just hoped that he didn’t pick a face tattoo. “Eye contact,” she told him again, wanting him to focus on her. “Go ahead,” she told the piercer, who slowly pierced Jefferson’s right nipple. Delilah wondered what was worse; a slow nipple piercing or a quick one? 

When the second needle went through his other nipple, Jefferson clenched his jaw but didn’t yell out. It still hurt but it was over quickly just as promised. He lowered his chin to look down at his chest and winced. This was not a look he would have actively sought out before. His outlook on life had changed so much in this repetitious day. He’d never been a stoner or an alcoholic before this day either, but what did it matter now if he added pierced nipples to the platter?

Snorting through his nose, he shook his head, grinning. “Okay. _Now,_ I’m done.”

The piercer held out a hand and Jefferson clapped his into it and was pulled upright. “Go have a look.” Jefferson shot a side-eye at Delilah and went and looked. He shook his head. “This is ridiculous looking,” he told her. Despite the pain inflicted upon him, the piercer had done a professional job of it. It didn’t look bad, just not him.

“Hey!” the man said. “I think it looks good on you. If you need any ointment put on later, come back and see me.” He winked at Jefferson. “Just don’t bring her.” 

Jefferson laughed. “I think Delilah and I are stuck together.” He grinned at her before pulling his black tee on over his head, being extra careful as the material brushed over his sensitive nipples. 

Delilah rolled her eyes at the man's comment. Jefferson’s words brought her back to reality — they were stuck together. If she hadn’t changed enough things today, tomorrow wouldn’t happen. She frowned, not wanting to relive this day again. Even if she was having fun right now with Jefferson, the idea of reliving this day over and over again...it was maddening. 

“I think I know just what kind of tattoo you’ll be getting…” he mused as he looked at Delilah with a smirk.

Jefferson had a tattoo in mind and Delilah nodded her head. “If it’s a face tattoo, I’ll kill you.” She told Jefferson. He’d be having to look out for both her _and_ Gold. 

Delilah stepped aside, waiting for Jefferson to tell the tattoo artist what he wanted her to get. She looked at the wall of art, eyes scanning each one. She remembered the first time she got a tattoo — she had just turned eighteen and wanted to do something crazy. It was a small tattoo that was now hidden under her hair on the back of her neck; a small swan. Delilah always found the animal elegant. _‘And they can be a real twat at times. Perfect for you.’_ Delilah smiled, remembering what had been said to her when she showed Phillip the tattoo. 

He laughed at the idea of a face tattoo. “No way. You’re too pretty for a face tattoo,” he told her. “On your stomach.” He pointed to the horizontal, cushioned table with the hole in it where her face would go. 

Jefferson showed the tattoo artist what he had in mind for Delilah with the image he pulled up on his phone. He patted Delilah on her shoulder blade indicating that that was where it should go. 

“Cold feet?” he asked Delilah as he pulled up a stool on the opposite side of her from the artist. 

“No,” she told Jefferson. “This isn’t my first rodeo.” She laid down on her stomach. Delilah stayed still, relaxing her body. Whatever Jefferson had picked was taking a while. Jefferson said that he thought the tattoo would be perfect for her — a way to commemorate the day. “If it’s a dick, you better hope that tomorrow doesn’t come.” 

He watched as the outline of the drawing went on first— _wipe, draw, wipe, draw—_ and eventually the color began to be filled in. Jefferson had to bite his lip as he grinned, watching and chuckled a few times. Adding a random encouragement to the artist, saying it looked good.

When it was finished, Jefferson was fully grinning. “I think it’s perfect for you. It’ll commemorate this day, for sure.” 

The artist handed Delilah a mirror that she could hold up to better see her shoulder blade in the stand up mirror behind her and the little devil on her shoulder. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Psychotropic drug use, hallucinations

* * *

After the tattoo was done, Delilah looked over her shoulder to see the final product. “A devil on my shoulder.” She chuckled. Well, Mother Superior had warned Delilah that there was a devil in her midst. “You might as well just had him put your name on it.” She grinned. “Seeing as you’re the devil.” 

Not that she wanted to be branded by Jefferson — especially if they were going to test out Gold’s theory. “Who are you gonna kiss at midnight this time?” She asked Jefferson after paying for the tattoo with a credit card. “Mayor Mills?” She suggested. Delilah would kiss Derek tonight, just to see if it worked. But unless Jefferson asked, she wasn’t going to tell him that she was actually going to go through with the kiss idea as well. “Or do you wanna hit up the nursing home?” Delilah smirked. 

Jefferson laughed about the nursing home as they walked out the door. “Don’t diss the senior citizens,” he told her. “They have probably forgotten more tricks than you and I know about combined.” He side-eyed Delilah smirking. Though this had been a nerve wracking experience, he had actually enjoyed himself with Delilah, temporarily forgetting the hell he was stuck in. 

It was her question about who he was going to kiss that brought him back to the original issue. The damn curse Gold had suggested Jefferson had caused. “I wouldn’t touch Mayor Mills with a ten foot pole. She’s got an evil side.” He shook his head. “It’s not like I plan who I kiss. I’m usually just flying by the seat of my pants on this wild ride.” 

Mayor Mills had an evil side? Delilah wondered. She definitely was a bitch, from what Delilah had heard. 

Looking over at Delilah again, he wanted to tell her maybe he’d end up kissing her, but she had already dismissed herself as a possibility. That didn’t mean he didn’t still want to kiss her. To maybe test out this ridiculous nipple piercing suggestion of heightened sensitivity. He chuckled to himself without revealing what he thought was so funny and got into Delilah’s car. 

“Who do you suggest then?” He asked as he looked curiously at Delilah, wondering if not her, then who.

Delilah pulled onto the road as he asked the question. She pursed her lips, trying to think of who might be Jefferson’s True Love. He’d need to make a list of people he’s already kissed so that they could narrow down their options. Ruby, Granny, Whale, Emma — who else had he tried? Priscilla obviously. He must have thought that she was his True Love and went to her first. Delilah wondered if he had tested that theory on _her?_ Did he kiss her during the time loop? Clearly, it didn’t work if he had. Oh, god; did they have sex again? And if so, how many times? 

Delilah cleared her throat, feeling vulnerable in that moment. She bit down on her lower lip, not knowing if she should ask him about how many times they might have had sex. She shook her head, focusing on the road. “Have you tried that uh, red head?” She asked. “The one with the weird name...Ari...Ariel! She came to the wedding with that fisherman; Eric.” 

Jefferson shrugged as he looked at the horizon. “No. I haven’t been going after married women. I guess I could try…” He wasn’t exactly interested either, but if he was going to attempt to take this more seriously, then he couldn’t just turn down every suggestion. If Gold was right, he could have been missing a lot of opportunity to get the fuck out of this hell. “This is the first time the wedding has ever been cancelled. I’m sorry you got dragged into this with me, but you’ve changed so much already that it feels entirely new and unexpected. I’m glad it’s you. Just think. It could have been that angry piercer that I’d be stuck with every day.” He crossed his arms protectively.

He was glad it was her that was stuck with him? Delilah smiled a little. She’d take the compliment. She then laughed when he brought up the angry piercer. “I’m sorry about that by the way,” she apologized, still chuckling as she replayed Jefferson’s reaction in her head. “The last thing I wanted was for him to pierce _my_ nipples.” A man piercing a woman's nipples? No. Delilah would have wanted a woman to be in charge of that. She was sure that women’s hands were much more delicate compared to men’s in that kind of situation. 

The corner of Jefferson’s mouth tipped up and he laughed again. “Poor Aurora. For her sake, I hope this day does restart. That’s another thing that’s never happened before. Bravo for flipping Storybrooke upside down for one day at least.” He slow-clapped while laughing. “Best day ever.”

She smiled when he began to slow clap. “I’m a hot mess, Jefferson, what can I say? Chaos follows me,” Delilah joked. _Best day ever,_ Jefferson had said. Man, he must be _really_ bored if today was one of the best he had while stuck in the time loop. 

If chaos followed Delilah, that meant for a good time, he figured. Things would stay interesting and he wouldn’t have to rely on himself for entertainment all the time. 

Delilah thought about what he said about not going after married women; she hadn’t realized that Ariel and Eric were married. Delilah wondered if Jefferson’s choice not to go after married women had to do with the fact that his wife had cheated on him. She inhaled deeply, her stomach starting to grumble. “I need food,” she declared, turning down the road. “Wanna max my credit card on the swankiest restaurant in Storybrooke?” She asked. 

Jefferson’s eyes lit up at the suggestion of food. “Yeah,” he drawled. He could always eat. “My dealer works there. Or rather, not so much a dealer, but the guy I steal the shrooms from at the wedding. He keeps a baggie in his chef coat and ends up on the catering staff later in the evening.” He grinned at Delilah. “Bet I could get him to put it in our food. What do you say?”

Delilah laughed. “Shrooms?” Why the fuck not? “We’ll have him make a doggy bag for us — someone’s got to get us to the bonfire,” she said, “though; I guess if we crashed on the way over we wouldn’t die- _die._ ” She mused. No. Better play it safe than end up in the morgue. Delilah pulled up to the restaurant they would dine at for the evening. “Wait, doesn’t it take a while for them to even kick in?” She tried to recall. “Fuck it,” Delilah said. “Let’s do it.” 

Once they were inside, Delilah asked for the nicest table in the restaurant, ordering the most expensive meal and bottle of wine on the menu for her and Jefferson. The waitress looked at her in surprise but went back to the kitchen with their orders. 

Jefferson also went back into the kitchen to talk to his shroom guy and came out with a happy grin. Clearly, the guy had agreed. For how expensive the meal was; Delilah had to admit that it was subpar. Granny could cook a better steak. But the ‘mushroom’ ravioli was amazing. 

Delilah didn’t feel much different, a little tipsy, but she was able to drive to where people were gathering for the bonfire. She winced once she saw Aurora, her nose clearly broken. “Oh god!” She said loudly, causing everyone to look at her. Delilah giggled. “Did I say that too loud?” 

Jefferson suspected this was the first time Delilah had tried magic mushrooms. He knew she toked up from time to time but this would be much more. More relaxing for him. It quieted the anxiety and depression this situation had dropped on him and made everything lighter. Euphoria was infinitely better than dwelling in his own misery.

Though he certainly hadn’t needed it today with Delilah as his partner in this adventure, he figured why the hell not when the opportunity came up? He’d never been to a bonfire on shrooms before. How much more different would it be than at the wedding? 

He could feel the calm wash over him on the way to the party behind Granny’s. A slow smile crept up his face. It had been about an hour since they had eaten the ravioli by the time they were walking into the vacant lot where the bonfire was already blazing. 

Jefferson blinked at the fire and backed up. It was the biggest damn fire he’d ever seen. Holy shit. And who were those people dancing around it? He squinted and recognized them. “Delilah!” He shouted, unsure of where she had gone already. “Your devils are here.” He laughed as he watched the figments weave in and out of the fire. He wasn’t afraid of some dancing demons. Even if they seemed to be vibrating around a green and yellow fire. 

“Wow…” The few bites he’d taken in the kitchen before returning to the table with Delilah might have been a little too extra on top of the energy drink. Uppers and downers… hmm. 

Shaking his head, he rubbed his fingers into his eyes. 

“Thought you weren’t coming…” It was Ruby standing there, crossing her arms at him but grinning. 

“No… I came with Delilah...” He pointed vaguely in the direction he thought he just heard Delilah’s voice but something about Ruby caught his attention. She had something strange around her. Strangely furry. “Are you wearing a fur coat? I didn’t know you were a furry!” He giggled wondering what her overprotective grandmother thought of that!

She looked down at herself and narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you high? Ugh. Jefferson. Granny was right.” As Ruby walked away, Jefferson watched, wholly confused. She looked like she was wearing wolf clothing and its red eyes were staring at him. A paw waved at him. Weird. Must be normal and he’d never noticed before.

Shrugging, he flopped down into a vacant lawn chair. Relaxing by the fire for a moment, he glanced to his side to see Will the bartender from the wedding sitting there, too.

“Oi, mate. What’s up? Need a beer?” 

“You’re on duty?” Jefferson asked, grinning as he took one. 

“Nah. But I grabbed two so I wouldn’t have to get up and search the cooler again.” He held his bottle out and Jefferson clinked his to Will’s and took a sip. “You were here with the redhead, yeah?”

Jefferson stretched out his legs and crossed one ankle over the other. “Nope. Single.” He waved his hand as he could have sworn a pixie was floating near his face, but it was just a floating ember from the fire. 

“Oh, that’s a good thing cos she’s bangin’ that fella o’er there. Di’nt wanna be the bearer of bad news.”

The only bodies Jefferson saw in the dark recesses of the shadows seemed to be melting in and out of the building. “Yeah, my ex-best friend. I’ll tell ya,” Jefferson said, leaning on his elbow as he looked at Will. “You make one mistake and get sucked into a portal and the next thing you know, you’re repeating history over and over again. I’m gonna lose my mind if I don’t get out of this…”—what had Delilah called it?—“time loop.”

“Time loop, eh?” Will said, scratching his jaw as he seemed to be pondering. “I heard this thing once. If ye don’t learn from history, you’re damned to repeat it. So what’ve ye learned?”

“Huh,” Jefferson said. That was pretty spot on. Will must be some kind of genius. Jefferson grinned. “I learned that I have to fix my mistake with True Love’s Kiss. S’posed to fix it all.” He gestured at the demons dancing around the fire.

“Oh. So you don’t know who it is yet? Sounds like you’ve got to start looking. I bloody well wouldn’t be sittin’ on me arse if I knew how to fix it.”

“Yeah, that’s what Delilah said.” Jefferson looked around for her again and took another drink of his beer.

“Welp,” Will sighed as he shifted on his lawn chair causing it to creak. “Ain’t no time like the present, eh?” 

Jefferson felt fingers grip his chin and turn his head to the side. Confused, he didn’t resist at all and suddenly found a warm, beer-flavored mouth against his—lips moving and a tongue thrust into his mouth. 

Delilah? He wondered and closed his eyes and kissed back. She was a good kisser. He knew that but he didn’t remember her using this much tongue before, but that had been a long time ago. Reaching out a hand for her, he expected to feel her hair but there was just a neck. His hand moved up. Short hair. _What the fuck?_

He pulled back and squinted. That didn’t look like Delilah. Did it? He leaned forward but his eyes were playing tricks on him. Damn shrooms. That looked like Will...

“Think that did the trick?” Will asked him very casually before taking a swig of his own beer and leaning back into his chair to stare at the fire. 

  
  


* * *

Why did she have two extra thumbs? Delilah closed her eyes tightly, hoping they’d go away. But the thumbs were still there when she opened her eyes, one green, and the other looked like it was...covered in chocolate. She brought the thumb to her mouth, sucking on it. Someone was laughing, laughing _at_ her. Delilah's eyes swelled with tears as she kept her thumb in her mouth. Why was someone laughing at her? 

“D, what the fuck?” A voice echoed. 

Delilah looked up, a man loomed over her. “Tall.” She whispered, trying to find his face. The thumb was yanked out of her mouth by a large hand and Delilah's eyes widened. She reached out to grab the hand, everything was in slow motion. 

“Are you high?” The voice sounded so far away, like it was coming from the Heavens. 

“God?” She whispered. “Is that you? I’m sorry I slept with a married man.” Delilah began to cry, hoping her confession to God would end this time loop. 

“You what?” 

“And that I have a devil on my shoulder,” she added. “And that I took mushroooooooms,” Delilah continued to cry. She felt her chest tighten with anxiety. “I’m sorry about Aurora’s nose. She looks so ugly now.” 

“Delilah!” The voice hissed. 

“She doesn’t know,” Delilah cried. “She doesn’t know that Phillip and I used to fuc--” A hand was pressed against her mouth suddenly, silencing her. But she continued to babble away. “And it was good!” Her voice was muffled. “So good. Better than Derek. Not as good as Jefferson,” she added. “Jefferson really knows what he’s doing.” 

“What the fuck are you doing?” The voice now whispered. Why would God use such vulgar language? 

“I’m _confessing.”_ She yanked the hand away. “It’s the only way to get out of this time loop!” 

She stood quickly, only to fall backwards. Laughter filled the air. Delilah closed her eyes, curling into a ball and cried. 

“Fucking hell.” Someone was picking her up. “What’s her room number?” The voice asked. 

“7B.” 

“Phillip? What happened to Delilah?” A soft, gentle voice asked. Birds singing accompanied the voice. “Is she okay?” 

“She’s fine, sweetheart. Just needs to sleep it off.” 

Wait. Who was holding her? 

She looked up at the sky, watching as the stars danced together in a rainbow of colors. She could still see those colors as she was laid down in bed. “Jefferson, do you see that?” 

“Delilah, it’s _Phillip,_ ” a voice said. “Is Jefferson the one who gave you the mushrooms?” He asked. “I’ll fucking kill him.” 

“Won’t matter.” Delilah told him, hands moving up to touch his face. His face was smooth, like a rose petal. “He won’t die. I’ve seen it.”

Phillip frowned. “Delilah...what are you doing?” She felt her lips press to Phillip’s in a soft kiss. He pulled away quickly. “Why would you do that?” 

“True Love’s kiss,” Delilah told him. “It’ll break the curse.” 

He sighed. “Delilah, get some sleep.” 

“Goodnight, Jefferson,” she said, closing her eyes.

  
  


* * *

Jefferson was feeling very mellow as he sat practically reclined in the aluminum lawn chair. Will was speaking about something next to Jefferson but the words just blended in with the general murmur of conversations around him. He could fall asleep right there. But there was enough stimuli to keep his eyes moving, tracking movements and watching as the colors bled into each other. This was nice. Such a nice change from the usual. He was happy.

Suddenly, the glow of the fire was cut off as a tall body blocked his view. Jefferson pushed himself up in the chair so he was sitting upright. “Oh my god,” he mumbled. It was one of those demons from the fire and it was looking at him! He struck a hand out to grab Will’s arm. “Look!”

But Jefferson was grabbed by the front of his jacket and shaken. The words were distorted but he could make out Delilah’s name. Oh shit! Did they get her? Jefferson’s eyes were wide in fear as he shoved at the demon’s chest. It was surprisingly solid and unyielding. 

A fist connected with his eye and Jefferson hit the dirt. “Owww....” he complained as he pushed himself up on an elbow. The demon was coming at him again.

“Leave ‘im alone. He’s not hurtin’ anyone.” Will was blocking this demon now. What a pal.

“He got Delilah high!” The demon was shouting. Uh oh. “I had to put her to bed as she babbled about nonsense!”

Then, Priscilla was there pulling at Jefferson. “What is wrong with you?” She shrieked at him. “I have never seen you act like this! Have you lost your mind?!”

Jefferson stood and looked back at Will and the demon who was trying to come after him again. “Probably.” He grinned and ran for the bed and breakfast doors. 

After bounding up the steps, he looked down the dimly lit hallway of doors. All the doorknobs had eyes and beaks and were honking at him. “Shut up,” he told them. “I’m trying to think.” Which room was hers? “Duck, duck, duck… Goose.” There it was. Cringing, he put his hand over the face of the doorknob and turned. With luck, it wasn’t locked. 

It was dark and the hum of the heater was blowing warmth into the room. He turned the lock on the door and shut it quietly. Walking into the room, he peeled his jacket off and dropped it on the floor, then sat on the edge of the bed. That was Delilah. It had to be. “I’m sorry,” he told her, though he could hear her steady breath of sleep and knew she couldn’t hear him. “I’ll do better tomorrow.”

His eye was throbbing where that demon had struck him and it made his head pound. He’d messed up so many times today, but thankfully, there was always the restart. Laying down would help and there was nowhere else he wanted to end this day than next to Delilah. “Happy New Year, sweetheart,” he mumbled into her hair. He put his arm around her and closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

The bathroom door creaked open and Jefferson woke to a bright room. The space next to him in the bed was empty--sheets disheveled were evidence of someone having slept there.

The first thing he did was lift his black tee up to look down his chest. No trace of yesterday’s shenanigans was visible. In a way, he kind of wished it was just so that it wasn’t all erased. It had been a good day, overall. Sighing, he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the pillow over his face. His arms crossed over the top of the pillow as he groaned.

“What are you doing?” The voice was muffled but sounded amused.

“Trying to suffocate myself,” he said into the pillow.

“Why don’t you stop being dramatic and take that shirt all the way off? You went to sleep last night before we could do anything...”

Pushing the pillow off of his face, Jefferson sat up. Priscilla dropped her towel. _Fuck. Here we go again._

He grabbed his jeans from the floor and stood. “This was a bad idea. We should break up,” he told Priscilla without looking at her.

“ _What?!”_ she shrieked. 

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ _Time is ticking. Move fast,_ he told himself. 

He grabbed his wallet and noticed in his peripheral vision Priscilla moving. Without grabbing his shoes, Jefferson ducked. A book hit the wall where he had just been standing. He ran for the door and flung it open. Too slow. The coffee pot struck him in the forehead just as he glanced over his shoulder. Down he went into the hallway clad in his boxers and tee shirt. 

“You don’t get to break up with me! I’m breaking up with you!” She shouted and threw his shoes at him. The door slammed.

“Ow,” Jefferson muttered as he sat up and touched his forehead. Blood was on his fingers. Well, this day was starting off just great.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Delilah's eyes opened. 

She groaned in frustration. _Naked._ Naked and alone in bed. _Ding._ Her phone went off. “For fucksake, Phillip.” Delilah huffed in annoyance. How many times was she supposed to have this conversation with him? 

There was a knocking at her door. “Breakfast in five, Delilah.” 

“Fuck off, Katherine!” Delilah shouted into her pillow, her words muffled. 

Her phone dinged again. 

She needed to get this talk over with. Delilah grabbed her phone, putting it to her ear after dialing Phillip's number. 

_“D?”_

“You and Aurora were made for each other,” she told him. “She’s the one, dude. You’ll never find someone else who loves you the way she does. So put on your big boy pants and go get ready for your wedding. She’s gonna look beautiful. You’ll even cry when she walks down the aisle.”

Phillip chuckled. _“Thanks, D. You’re a good friend.”_

“I know.” She agreed. 

They hung up and Delilah got dressed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She looked in the mirror as she changed, seeing that the tattoo she had gotten yesterday had disappeared. Jefferson’s nipples must have closed up too. That caused her to chuckle. 

What had happened last night? She remembered getting to the bonfire but everything after that had been a blur of shapes and colors. Delilah remembered feeling anxious, sad, and lonely. 

What had happened to Jefferson? 

Delilah heard the sound of something shattering and frowned. Oh god. What the hell was happening now? Opening up her door, Delilah looked down the hall and saw Jefferson standing in the hallway in only his boxers and a t-shirt. She chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. And then she saw the blood on his forehead. Jesus. Priscilla really was crazy. Why the hell did Jefferson keep going back to her? 

If Jefferson could change just one thing about this whole time loop--barring getting out of it being a possibility--it would be to wake up one minute earlier every morning. Was that so much to ask? He shook his head at the door before bending to pick up his shoes.

“Come on in, Casanova,” Delilah told Jefferson. “I have an idea for what we can do today.” She walked back into her room, leaving the door open so that Jefferson could come in. She grabbed her phone and opened up her web browser, searching for the nearest place to go bungee jumping. It was something she had always wanted to try — why not today? 

Delilah’s voice carried down the hallway and Jefferson looked her way and smiled. She had an infinitely better voice and disposition than Priscilla. 

“Good morning,” he said as he stepped into Delilah’s room and shut the door behind him. He noticed she was wearing something different than the previous day. That small detail was refreshing, too. Unfortunately, Jefferson had no other clothes until he bought something else to wear that day as he often did.

“As long as it’s not anything that leads to me being stabbed today, I’m game.” He grinned at Delilah to show her he had no hard feelings about it toward her as he dropped the jeans he carried and his wallet on the bed and headed for the bathroom to take care of his forehead. “Shit,” he hissed as the wet washcloth touched his torn skin. Fortunately, it didn’t look like he would need stitches, aka more stabbing. 

He left the bathroom and grabbed his jeans so he could get dressed. “I was hoping we’d get the hell out of Storybrooke for the day.”

“That’s the plan,” Delilah told Jefferson as he got dressed. She set her phone down and walked over to where her clothes from last night — or, _the night—_ had been left on the floor, picking the dress up and throwing it into her suitcase. Where the hell did her underwear end up? It didn’t matter. “Do you happen to have your passport?” She asked him. They’d need to stop by her apartment to grab hers. “The closest place to go bungee jumping is in Quebec.” 

Bungee jumping was another thing he would be able to strike off his list of things he never would have done before this repetitious day had started but since he was practically invincible now, he’d do it. “Yeah, I have a passport card in my wallet. You look good this morning, by the way.” He didn’t hide the appreciation in his eyes as he looked Delilah over as he pulled his jeans and shoes on.

Delilah grabbed her purse and car keys. “Treat me to breakfast?” She asked Jefferson. The cut on his forehead was still slightly bleeding causing Delilah to frown. “What was that about?” She asked, curious as to why Priscilla would strike Jefferson. “Did you confront her about William?” She walked forward and into Jefferson’s space, standing on her tiptoes so that she could get a better look at the cut. He’d need a band aid, but Delilah didn’t think he would need stitches. Her hand moved up, thumb swiping away the blood that was close to spilling. “I’m sure that Whale has some band aids.” Delilah said, taking a step back. _Does it hurt?_ She wanted to ask. That was a stupid question. Of course it must hurt. 

Jefferson smiled slightly at Delilah’s care. “No, I’m past confrontations with her; but she’s zero to sixty, full on hostile every single morning if I turn her down for sex. I have exactly ten seconds to get out before she throws the coffee pot. I wasn’t fast enough this morning.” He gestured at his forehead and rolled his eyes. 

He liked seeing Delilah standing so close to him and started to raise his hand to place on her hip, but she backed up so he just ran his fingers through his hair instead. It was a good thing he’d gotten his haircut the morning before this curse had begun. It was short enough that he didn’t exactly need a comb which he didn’t have anyway.

While Whale was downstairs at the moment eating breakfast, he didn’t exactly want to tell Whale about Priscilla injuring him. Telling him that there was a single, horny woman upstairs would have certain results that Jefferson did not want to think about again. He visibly shivered and realized he’d left his jacket in the other room. Too damn bad. He wasn't going after it. “I know where Granny keeps the First Aid Kit. I’ve had to get many band aids and butterfly bandages in the mornings. You can apply one for me before we eat…?” He asked, hopeful.

“Sure,” She shrugged, motioning to the door for him to follow. “It’s weird to not wake up completely hungover after last night.” Delilah remarked. 

Jefferson walked next to Delilah down the stairs. “You get used to it,” he said, casually. He had anyway. 

“Who did you end up kissing?” She asked. _Oh shit._ Delilah frowned, a vague memory playing in her head. _She_ had kissed someone last night. Was it Jefferson? Oh shit. That couldn’t happen. The last thing she wanted was to be some _test._ Especially while aware of what the kiss was supposed to represent. Jefferson was kissing people to test if Gold's theory was right. If they had kissed last night...that meant it hadn’t worked. For either of them. 

Delilah felt an awkward tension fill her body. Why did she care? They had slept together _once._ Yeah, she had liked him but he had left her to go back to his wife. That was the end for them. Delilah shook her head, trying to get rid of the tension. 

Who had he kissed? It was a little fuzzy by now, but the distinct realization of who he had kissed came back to him at once. He laughed to himself, ready to tell her, but they were intercepted first.

“Delilah,” a voice called out once they were downstairs. Katherine. Ugh. “Why aren’t you wearing your bridesmaid t-shirt?” The blonde woman asked in annoyance. “We’re all heading to Granny’s diner for breakfast and we’re supposed to be matching.” 

Delilah looked at Jefferson. “Why don’t you go get that band aid?” She suggested before turning her attention back to Katherine. “Yeah,” Delilah drew out the word. “I actually ended up...um, losing mine last night.” She lied. The t-shirt was horrid and Delilah hated wearing it the first time; she was not going to do it again. It was itchy and too tight around the neck. It made Delilah feel like she was suffocating. “And I have plans for breakfast.” 

Katherine glared. “You’re joking, right?” 

“Nope,” Delilah said. “I’m also probably not going to make it back in time for the wedding,” she added on. 

Katherine's eyes widened in shock. “Delilah,” the woman shook her head. “Today is _Aurora’s_ day.” 

Delilah sighed. “It’s always her day.” 

“You’re being incredibly selfish.” 

“Maybe I am,” Delilah agreed. “But I don’t really give a fuck. About literally _anything._ Also, maybe cut down on your love letter of a toast during the reception.” She patted Katherine's arm. 

“Bitch,” Katherine mumbled before walking away. 

* * *

Jefferson went for the First Aid Kit, not even pausing at the gap in the counter to dig for the metal box under the register. The crossbow was nudged aside and the box was pulled free. 

“Hey! Get your meat hooks out of there!” Granny bustled toward him with a towel in hand and snapped it at him.

Yelping from the sting of the pop, he jumped back onto the customer side of the counter and waved the box in his hand. “I just need a band aid, Granny. Wanna put it on for me?” 

“What do I look like? Your mother? Just get _one_. Those things aren’t free.” She scoffed, gave him a threatening look, and carried on with her business. 

“Such a cheap busy body,” Whale said, eyeing Jefferson’s forehead. “She’d let you bleed to death before offering any help. How’d that happen?” Whale gestured at Jefferson’s forehead with his fork.

“Cut myself shaving.” Nope. He was not telling Whale anything. 

Instead of taking his usual seat next to Whale, Jefferson took a vacant booth and set his arm up on the backrest and crossed his ankles on the seat so he was looking out of the booth at the small wedding party of two—Aurora with a perfectly intact nose and a disgruntled Katherine who was griping about Delilah.

When Delilah joined him, he clasped his hands over the table top as he locked eyes with her. “You asked me who I kissed last night.” He raised an eyebrow as he started to grin, holding the suspense for a moment. “Will, the bartender from the wedding? He kissed me.” He was on the verge of laughing, but managed to hold it in. “I thought he was… someone else so…” He laughed then, dipping his head. “I kissed back.” 

He recalled about Delilah passing out early and how pissed off Philip had been about her taking shrooms. She hadn’t handled them well. So he added, “I’m going to stay away from the magic mushrooms from now on.” Inclining his chin, he asked, “What about you? You went to bed early...” He slid the band aid across the table to Delilah and leaned over the table on his crossed forearms.

Delilah laughed when Jefferson told her that he and Will had kissed. When Jefferson said that he planned to stay away from the magic mushrooms, Delilah agreed. She did not like the way she felt last night. “I honestly don’t remember going to bed,” she admitted, taking the bandage from Jefferson and leaned forward. She blew on the small cut before she gently placed the flesh colored band aid on his forehead. Her finger brushed against it to make sure it stayed put.

Delilah sat back in her seat, trying to recall what had happened. “I remember...my thumb,” she said, shaking her head. “I think it had chocolate on it. I think I was sucking my thumb.” Delilah winced. “I _hope_ it was my thumb, at least.” She made a face. “And then...someone...someone was talking to me?” Delilah shrugged. “Maybe I was talking to myself.” 

And then she kissed someone. Possibly Jefferson. “Sorry that Will didn’t turn out to be your True Love.” Delilah said in amusement. “Was he a good kisser?” She wondered, seeing as Jefferson had kissed him back. He said that he thought that Will was someone else — perhaps Ruby? She looked over to see the young woman at the next table, taking their orders. She was dressed in her usual working attire; short red shorts and a white button up that was tied above her belly. Her dark hair was pulled out of her face with a red ribbon that matched the shade of her lipstick. Ruby was beautiful and Delilah suddenly felt incredibly insecure. Jefferson had said she looked nice today but compared to Ruby? She looked plain. 

Jefferson only shrugged about Will being a good kisser yet not his true love. It wasn’t as if he had been paying enough attention and then he’d gotten sidetracked by Phillip beating him up. 

“What can I get you two?” Ruby asked as she walked up to their booth. 

“Eggs and toast, please,” Delilah said politely. Just because Ruby made her insecure didn’t mean she was going to be rude to her. 

“Coffee?” 

“Do you have any tea?” She asked, not wanting to feel the jittery anxiety that often came with drinking coffee. 

Ruby nodded. “Preference?” 

“Black? Or any kind of breakfast tea you might have.” Ruby nodded, writing down her order. 

“How ‘bout you?” Ruby asked Jefferson next with a smile. 

Tea. Now that was a good idea. “Same for me,” he told Ruby and promptly returned his attention to Delilah. Ruby walked off to grab the teapot and cups.

“I think I know the answer to your mysterious night,” he said grinning. “Phillip came out of nowhere and punched me in the eye. I thought he was one of those fire wraiths coming for me. He was really pissed off. Anyway, he was mad that I gave you shrooms which means you spoke to him.”

 _Phillip!?_ Of all the people it had been Phillip? Delilah groaned, head falling in her hands in embarrassment.

Jefferson laughed upon wondering something else. “Hey… Maybe you sucked his—" 

Jefferson’s next suggestion caused her to quickly look up at him with a glare. She did not blow Phillip last night! At least...she didn’t think she did. Maybe she sucked on his thumb? 

Maybe he said that too loudly because Ruby showed up at the table just then, clearing her throat loudly as she set the teapot and two cups down. She gave a wide eyed look at Jefferson and Delilah and smiled awkwardly. 

Delilah felt herself sinking into the booth, her face flushing red. 

“Your breakfast will be ready soon.” She turned hastily to go check on another table. Jefferson pressed his lips together before grinning at Delilah. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled to Ruby when she gave them an update on the status of their breakfast. 

_If_ she had kissed Phillip last night, that meant she could cross him off her list of potential True Love matches. What if she never found the one and was stuck here forever with Jefferson? For all she knew, this person could be living across the continent from her. She looked at Jefferson from across the booth. What would happen if he ever found _his one?_ Would he leave her again? Would she be stuck in this time loop alone? As badly as she wanted for them both to get out...maybe they needed to press pause on testing Gold’s theory. 

Apparently, his amusement of the whole situation wasn’t exactly shared with Delilah. “Sorry if I embarrassed you,” he told her more quietly, but he still couldn’t keep the grin from his face. He was simply happier around Delilah. 

“The thing about all of this... As long as we aren’t… I don’t know, harming people or being total dicks, you and I are the only ones that will remember what we do, and we have to live with it. Not any of them. Phillip won’t even remember that you sucked his thumb.” He was laughing again, wondering why that was such a bad thing. “Or might have. I didn’t see anything.”

She looked pretty upset about Phillip, he guessed, unless this was about something else, so he scooted out of his side of the booth and waved at Delilah to move over, so he could sit down next to her.

His words made her smile. “I’m glad it’s you that I’m stuck with.” Delilah told him honestly. “I don’t know what I would have done if I were stuck here with anyone else.” She’d likely go insane and blow her brains out. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that just yet — it was only Day Two of reliving the same day. Of...was it three? Her brain was not awake enough to do math right now. 

“I’m glad it’s you and me too.” He reached for his tea cup and pulled it closer to him, then poured the hot tea into each cup. “We’re going to have a fun day today.” He nudged Delilah with his elbow, hoping to cheer her up. He took a sip of his tea and said under his breath, “Hopefully, I won’t faint on the way down.” 

Delilah huffed out a laugh. “I’ll wake you right before we hit the ground.” She told him. 

Their food was brought to the table, Ruby eyeing them both upon seeing that Jefferson had moved to sit next to Delilah. She ate her eggs and toast, watching the people in the room talk. Every so often, Katherine would glare in her direction and Delilah would ignore it, not bothered by her irritation. 

“We should probably head out. I still have to get my passport from my apartment. Hopefully, Derek’s not there.” She said, pushing her plate forward and faced Jefferson. “He probably wouldn’t be too keen on me bringing another man home.” Ruby brought them their bill and Delilah looked at Jefferson sweetly. “Your treat.” She reminded him, patting his shoulder. 

Why did it bother him so much in hearing that she was going to the house she had once shared with Derek? He knew Delilah had been separated from Derek for a week before they hooked up. Why should Derek even care if Jefferson was there with Delilah? It wasn’t as if _they_ were dating… just doing nearly everything together for the last day or so.

He looked at Delilah facing him and wanted to speak his mind about it, but really, what did it matter? They wanted to go bungee jumping, they needed her passport. “Or we can skip bothering Derek and just cross the border illegally,” he suggested. “It’s not hard.” He smirked easily. “But that is a lot of extra running through the woods and time on foot without a car when we could be leaping off of a perfectly stable horizontal surface to go plummeting toward the earth. I guess Derek will just have to deal with me.”

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and pulled the two tens out that he usually used for his solo breakfast and lunch and dropped them on the table.

“It’ll be fine,” Delilah brushed it off, scooting out of the booth. “Derek is harmless. Jealous of any man that looks at me. But would never start a fight. Besides,” Delilah said as they walked out of the diner. “We’re done. He doesn’t have the right to be upset about who I choose to spend my time with.”

Delilah walked over to her car and unlocked it. “Have you ever crossed the border?” She asked Jefferson, his earlier idea of crossing into Canada illegally had Delilah curious. “Or tried to leave this town while stuck?” That was another thing that Delilah wondered about. Could they leave Storybrooke? Clearly, if Jefferson knew they couldn’t, he would tell her. 

She got into her car, turning on the heat. Delilah had wanted to get back to Storybrooke by midnight, but what was the point? She didn’t plan on kissing anyone in town tonight. If they fell asleep in Canada she’d still wake up naked and alone in her room at Granny’s BnB. 

“Oh yeah,” Jefferson answered Delilah. He pulled the door handle and got into the passenger seat. “Once, I tried to see how far I could get away from here. I got all the way to Saskatchewan on a shit load of energy drinks. I was twitching and acting really weird and some Mounties arrested me. I passed out in a jail cell and then just woke up back here again. It was a complete waste of time.” And he’d never tried it again. He shrugged as he clicked his seat belt into place.

Once they finally made it to her apartment, Delilah unbuckled her seat and looked to Jefferson. “You’re welcome to come up.” She told him. “I still pay some of the rent here,” Delilah added. If Derek had a problem, she’d remind him of that little fact. 

Jefferson got out and followed Delilah up. He’d never been here with her before so it was interesting to see how she lived outside of a hotel room. 

Once inside, Delilah walked down the hallway and towards the staircase. She and Derek lived on the second floor — _it’s safer,_ Derek had told her. _No one breaks into places on the second floor._ Delilah had countered back that if there was a fire, their location would _not_ be safer, and that an apartment on the bottom floor would be better. Derek, of course, got his way. 

Standing in front of the door, Delilah knocked. Waiting for Derek to answer. She frowned when he didn’t respond and knocked louder. _Nope. Nothing._ But she could hear noise coming from inside. _Giggling._ That caused her to pause. 

Getting out her keys, Delilah unlocked the front door. That’s when she found Derek on the couch with another woman in his lap, his face ghostly pale when he saw her. Delilah stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do. “I uh,” She cleared her throat. “I need my passport.” 

From the doorframe, Jefferson watched Derek scramble with the woman in his lap. He waited where he stood as his eyes casually looked around the place. Even if she shared the space with Derek, he wondered if this was Delilah’s decor or Derek’s. 

“Delilah,” Derek started to say but Delilah didn’t let him finish. 

“It’s in the file cabinet, right?” She asked him, walking further into the apartment. 

Derek followed after her. “I can explain,” he said. “Odile and I work together.” 

“Cool.” Delilah walked into their bedroom and over to the closet where the filing cabinet was. 

“It wasn’t anything I _planned.”_

Delilah opened the filing cabinet and grabbed her passport. “Derek, honestly, I don’t care.” She told him. She had literally shown up with the man she had sex with last night — or, however many nights ago it was. “We’re broken up. For good.” 

Derek frowned as Delilah walked out of the room. Odile was pulling her shirt on, glaring at Delilah. 

“Yeah, but...ya know, I figured…”

“Figured what?” Delilah turned to look at him. “That after fucking your coworker maybe you and I could give it a go? No thanks.” 

“I still love you, Delilah.” 

Delilah shook her head. “Have fun at the wedding tonight.” 

Jefferson caught Derek staring at him with a _what the fuck_ expression on his face and Jefferson nodded at him. “Hi. I’m Jefferson…” He hooked a thumb at himself as Odile was pulling her shirt on and Delilah was walking out of the bedroom, her passport in hand.

Derek’s excuse that he still loved Delilah while he had a half naked woman on his lap made Jefferson snort. What an idiot. He slipped his arm around Delilah’s waist and grinned at her. “Ready to go, sweetheart?” Maybe he was deviling her in front of her ex but he hoped it boosted her confidence in the very least. She wasn’t alone.

Derek's eyes widened with hurt when Jefferson called Delilah sweetheart and she couldn’t help but shake her head. _He_ was the one who got to be hurt in this situation? He was mid thrust when Delilah walked into their apartment. No way did _he_ get to act like a wounded puppy after what Delilah just witnessed. 

Delilah looked up at Jefferson, thankful he was with her. “Ready,” she told him.

“Delilah,” Derek called her name as they walked out of the apartment. 

She was quiet, leaning into Jefferson’s side as they walked down the stairs. Delilah wasn’t hurt that Derek was with another woman. She just wished she didn’t have to walk in on it. 

Delilah thought of Jefferson and how he had to watch Priscilla with William. It must have been awful the first time he saw it. And he had been alone. “Thanks for that.” She told Jefferson once they were out of the building. “If you hadn’t stepped in, Derek would have never let me leave.” She could picture it now; the tears and apologies, Derek begging for forgiveness. Delilah shook her head, glad she didn’t have to sit through that. “If you ever want to piss off Priscilla, I’ll happily repay the favor,” Delilah said with a little chuckle. 

She had been with Derek since she was nineteen. Nearly a decade of her life. For the first time in a very long time, Delilah felt _free._

Delilah’s offer to piss off Priscilla for him came from a good place, he was sure, but that was the last thing he wanted to do. It would probably cause his estranged wife to take out her crazy on Delilah. Not worth it. And as long as he only had to see the woman for mere seconds every day and no more than that, he was completely fine not to mess with her anymore.

Getting in the car, Delilah turned on the radio and turned off her phone. It would take almost 5 hours to get to Quebec. Delilah looked at the clock — 10 AM. Hopefully they'd make good time. “Tell me about your life before the time loop, Jefferson.” She said as they drove out of town. They had five hours to kill, might as well get to know each other. 

She asked about his life and Jefferson’s content smile turned into a slight frown. “No one’s asked me that before,” he mumbled, mostly to himself as he looked out the windshield.

No one had cared enough to ask. It was a little worrisome that he had been so out of touch with himself for all this time that he began to forget things that weren’t front and center in his daily routine anymore.

“Well,” he started, as he glanced briefly at Delilah. “I don’t live in Storybrooke proper. I live just outside of town. Since I didn’t take my own car,”--whatever model it was, he couldn’t remember--“into town for the wedding, I haven’t had one to use. Thanks for driving,” he added with a grin. “The one time I left town to drive across Canada, I stole a car. This one.” He bit his lip as he grinned at Delilah. 

Delilah laughed. “Well I hope you treated her kindly,” she said, affectionately petting the dashboard. “She’s my longest relationship.” Delilah confessed. “My Dad got her for me when I was sixteen.” 

“Of course I did.” He grinned as he patted the dashboard as well. “Misty and I had a great time. I was hallucinating from exhaustion by Manitoba and she told me her name is Misty. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s a wonderful name.” Delilah told Jefferson in amusement. “I’ve called her Old Lady since I got her so she was probably grateful for the name change. _Misty._ ” She chuckled. “By day she roams the streets, and night; she _works_ the streets.” Delilah joked. 

Delilah hadn’t known that Jefferson lived outside of Storybrooke. In fact, she didn’t really know anything about him. They had a fun time at the dinner rehearsal together and Delilah felt a connection to him that she hadn’t felt in a long time — _that_ was why she had invited him back to her room. Yes, he was incredibly handsome and Delilah was attracted to him, but there was more to it. When she saw him the other night, she felt a magnetic pull that she couldn’t explain. The sex had been amazing and Delilah didn’t feel an ounce of guilt when she fell asleep. Waking up the next morning, however, left Delilah feeling different — seeing Jefferson with Priscilla caused the magnetic pull to sever. She looked over at him, wondering if he had felt it too. 

“Tell me more,” Delilah said, shaking away those thoughts. “Have you always lived here?” She asked. “What do you do when you’re not stuck in a time loop? Do you have a job?” She wondered. Delilah worked as a florist with Aurora at Game of Thorns, a small flower delivery business in Storybrooke; a job she had been working for the last five years. _Phillip_ had actually gotten her the job after the dance studio she taught at closed down. 

They were passing the Storybrooke sign now and Jefferson watched it, his eyes automatically looking to the left as if there was something familiar that way. There was a paved road leading deep into the woods. “I’ve lived in Storybrooke for as long as I can remember,” he said, distractedly. “I think I lived down that way.” He shifted in his seat to look back at the street. No street sign. Maybe he was wrong. It had been so long by now that he wasn’t exactly sure what his home looked like anymore. All he remembered about it was that it was empty of life and being lonely was the last thing Jefferson wanted so there had been no reason to go searching for it.

He looked over at Delilah again, thankful she had started talking to him again. There were so many days she wouldn’t even look his way and those days had been the worst and most reckless. With her choosing to spend her time with him, he didn’t have to focus on mistakes anymore.

He hummed as he thought about a job. “The other night when we were at that swanky restaurant, something occurred to me. I walked into the kitchen like I owned the place and no one batted an eye at seeing me back there. The chef that carries the shrooms even said, ‘You got it, boss’ to me when I asked him to put some in our food. Maybe I’m a manager?” He shook his head, unsure. “I think I’d like to cook again. That’s something I haven’t done in a long time. Haven’t needed to.”

When Jefferson mentioned not remembering what his job has been, Delilah frowned. He didn’t seem to remember much of his life before the time loop — just how long had he been stuck here? 

“Cooking can be cathartic.” Delilah replied when Jefferson said that he wanted to cook again. “Baking.” She smiled. “I love baking. I always dreamed of working at the patisserie in town but,” She shrugged. “Never worked up the courage to do it.” They were out of Storybrooke now, causing Delilah to smile. It was nice to know that she wasn’t entirely trapped here. She could leave town — visit her father.

“There’s no harm in trying now. If you get rejected, just try a different tactic the next day. Or you and I can cook for each other.” More time with Delilah? Count him in.

“Do you have any family?” Delilah asked Jefferson. “Besides your lovely wife.” She smirked. 

She asked about family. Now that was a question Jefferson knew for certain how to answer. He slid a grin at Delilah about her comment on Priscilla. “Nope,” he said, simply. “I got married way too young because I was seeking stability—something I hadn’t had since before my parents died. I had no idea she would end up being crazier than me.” He carefully touched the spot on his forehead, frowning a little. “I wanted kids,” he said aloud, thinking of the way he thought his life would turn out. “Thankfully, that never happened. Can you imagine? Me with a kid?” He shook his head. What a mess he had become in a day. And now that he was stuck here forever in a single day, it never would happen.

Jefferson had laughed off the thought of him being a father. Delilah had never pictured herself being a mother either. Her father had her go on birth control after he caught her with Derek — not that birth control would have helped her in _that_ act. But she had been on the pill since nineteen. If her father had known about Phillip; he would have had her get on the pill earlier than that. But no one knew about Phillip. 

Jefferson knew about Delilah’s father living out of town and how she loved him so much. On the days when he was lucky enough to get Delilah to talk to him, she would sometimes mention her father, but he didn’t know anything about her dreams of her future. She didn’t have Derek in her life anymore, obviously. What kind of moron would let Delilah get away? Clearly, Jefferson could count himself in the moron category. But he’d spent time after time trying to fix that particular mistake. “What about you? You’ve told me about your father before,” he admitted. 

She had? Delilah looked at Jefferson in surprise. What all had she shared with him? “It’s just me and my Dad.” She told him, wondering if he already knew that. “My mom left when I was a baby. Couldn’t hack the whole parent thing.” Delilah shrugged it off. 

She looked over briefly at Jefferson. His parents had died — Delilah couldn’t imagine losing her father. The day that happened...she’d be an absolute wreck. It didn’t surprise her that Jefferson got married young after losing his parents — stability, he called it. 

“Derek proposed last year.” Delilah confessed. “I think that’s when things started to fall apart for us.” She said quietly. “I thought we were too young, even after being together for so long...there was just something that kept me from saying _yes._ ” She remembered the look on Derek's face when she told him no. How heartbroken he had looked. It killed Delilah to hurt him, but she wasn’t ready to marry him and the last thing she wanted to do was marry him with doubts and end up divorced. 

He listened as Delilah explained about her time with Derek. “You’re smart,” he added, nodding. “You know when it’s just not right.” They were quiet for a little while. Jefferson watched the trees whiz by. 

“Were you close to your parents before they died?” Delilah asked. She frowned, hoping she didn’t make him uncomfortable with the question. It might be hard for Jefferson to talk about them; Delilah certainly didn’t like talking about her mother and the woman was still alive and living in Palm Springs. She’d understand if the topic of his parents was a subject Jefferson didn’t want to dig too deep into. 

Her question didn’t catch him off guard. This conversation was actually helping him to bring the old memories back up so he wouldn’t forget them for good. “Not really,” he said casually. “I rarely saw my father because he was gone for work all the time. I have warm feelings about my mother, but she was gone first. I was left to be dealt with by the nanny.” _Nanny?_ He hadn’t thought of that in more years than he’d been cursed. “My turn.” He shifted in his seat so he could look at Delilah better. “What did you do for fun before this curse? Were you into nipple piercings and bungee jumping?” Obviously, she wasn’t a stranger to piercings, but he wanted to know more about her and for her to remember that she had this conversation with him.

“Oh, you didn’t notice when we had sex?” Delilah joked when he asked. “My nipples must have slipped your mind.” She smirked, teasing Jefferson. 

“Oh, no, I didn’t forget your nipples,” he said, grinning at Delilah. 

She chuckled. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t an adrenaline junkie before all of this.” She confessed. “The hardest drug I ever did was ecstasy — once.” Delilah clarified. “And occasionally I smoke when my anxiety is through the roof. Derek hated it. He can’t handle his high and always ends up crying.” She chuckled. 

Jefferson laughed when she brought up Derek crying when high. “I guess I should have rephrased that to ask if you ever tried to get Derek pierced, but I already knew that would be a big no.” He knew Derek couldn’t handle very much in the way of extreme behavior.

She thought of what Jefferson said about his mother — the warm feeling he associated with her. Delilah felt nothing when she thought of her mother. It was an empty space in her that she could never fill. Her father had dated every once and while over the years, but nothing ever stuck. Delilah was the center of his world, he was content with it being just the two of them. Though he did start hinting about wanting grandchildren when Delilah turned twenty-five. She had yet to grant him that wish. 

“I like to think that I was an easy kid for my Dad. I never got suspended from school. I always had good grades. I’d sneak out occasionally to see,” _Phillip,_ she nearly said “—friends, but I was always home before he woke up.” Delilah told Jefferson. “He was beyond pissed when I came home on my eighteenth birthday with a tattoo though.” She confessed. “Didn’t talk to me for a whole day. Which was hypocritical because he is covered in tattoos.” She rolled her eyes, “ _Tattoos are forever, Delilah Odette Mason!”_ She imitated her fathers deep voice as best as she could. Delilah laughed, “Say that to the devil on my shoulder.” She said, thinking of how the tattoo she got yesterday had disappeared when the day restarted. “I don’t recall seeing any tattoos on you.” Delilah said, looking to Jefferson briefly before turning her attention back to the road. “You’ve never gone under the needle?” 

“I wasn’t into any of that,” he admitted. “I smoked cigarettes for a little while but quit. I rarely drank. With Priscilla sneaking off not long after we married, someone had to be the adult and be responsible.” He set his chin in his palm as he thought over it. Delilah was so different from Priscilla. “When you and I met, I remember thinking that you had this classiness to you that was refreshing.” He remembered the way she smiled at him that evening, too--a classic beauty. He wanted to be around her for whatever it was that was calling to him to get to know her better felt magnetic. Like a need that he’d never satisfied before. It was more than just the great sex too. But then he had looked at his phone and he had left. “You still do,” he corrected himself quickly in case she thought he meant she had changed.

He had found her classy? Delilah smiled. “My etiquette classes seemed to have finally paid off.” She joked. No, she had never taken etiquette classes — but Delilah didn’t know how to respond to Jefferson’s compliment. Or any compliment, really. Her face would always flush and she’d feel a tightness in her chest that made her feel uneasy. But when Jefferson complimented her...she actually believed it. Which was odd, to say the least. Delilah knew that his words were genuine. 

Jefferson chuckled at Delilah’s joking around. “I wouldn’t have considered a tattoo back then, but now? Why the hell not? They can be hot.” He touched her shoulder blade briefly as he smirked. “I found I like the riskier things in life. Being invincible kind of does that to a person. It’s freeing.” Despite his being trapped in a curse, he was most definitely having more fun now than he had before. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he had even tried to get out of the curse.

“I think that when we finally find a way to get out of this time loop, we should get tattoos to celebrate,” Delilah suggested. “And you can re-pierce your nipples.” She smirked. “Take them out for a proper test run.” Delilah winked, taking her hand off the wheel to flick Jefferson’s nipple. 

* * *

They only needed to stop for gas once halfway into the trip, but soon enough they were at the Canadian border. 

“Old lady Misty has proved her worth.” Delilah said as they sat in line. “We’ve got about another hour left,” Delilah said, turning on her phone. 

12 Missed Calls

20 Unread Messages 

She rolled her eyes, seeing who had called her while her phone was off. 

Derek (4 Missed Calls)

Phillip (2 Missed Calls) 

Aurora (3 Missed Calls) 

Katherine (3 Missed Calls) 

Most of the texts were from Derek, one from Phillip and two from Aurora — the rest were angry texts from Katherine claiming that Delilah had _ruined_ the entire wedding by running off. 

1 Voicemail 

Delilah put her phone to her ear. 

_“Look, D...I don’t know what’s going on. Derek told me you ran off to Canada with some guy...Jefferson? I just want to make sure you’re safe. You were right, uh, I did end up crying when I saw Aurora. She looked beautiful….I wish you could have been there. Anyway, please let me know that you’re okay.”_

Delilah frowned, feeling guilty. 

She sent Phillip a quick text letting him know that she had made it to Canada safely and turned off her phone again. 


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Jefferson patted his thighs along with the beat of the music that was quietly playing on the radio while Delilah dealt with her phone. Missing a wedding when she’s a bridesmaid had been very irresponsible of both of them, but it didn’t matter. Tomorrow would be another day she could go and repeat it all over again if she wanted to. 

Unless they did something else. When Delilah set her phone down again, Jefferson glanced at her briefly to see if she was bothered by her messages before saying, “Never have I ever stolen a pirate ship…” He grinned as he watched the light at the checkpoint turn from red to green, back to red as the cars ahead of them inched forward waiting for their turns. 

Since they were playing hookie for a wedding, why not steal Captain Hook’s ship sometime? Even if it was a lame tourist trap, the guy that owned the ship sometimes went by the tacky moniker as he sailed the ship around the harbor. It was a big boat and it sailed. Why couldn’t they do it?

Delilah laughed. “I can’t say I have.” She shook her head as the car moved forward. “That guy really lays on the charm thick,” Delilah said, recalling going with Derek once. “He’s far too pretty to be a pirate. It’s not believable.” She looked over at Jefferson, thinking that he was far too pretty to be a pirate too. He could probably pull off the guy-liner that Killian Jones wore while in costume. “Hey! Maybe _he’s_ your True Love?” She suggested, using her elbow to nudge Jefferson in his side. 

Honestly, if she had to kiss _someone_ to test Gold’s theory, Delilah wouldn’t mind kissing Killian Jones. She looked over at Jefferson for a moment, thinking that even if she wasn’t his True Love, she’d still enjoy kissing him. _Nope, don’t go there._

Jefferson scoffed at Delilah’s suggestion that he should kiss Killian Jones. “I’m not gay, Delilah. Despite my record...” Okay, so it wasn’t a good record but the two men he had kissed had both been accidents and one had kissed him first. 

She cleared her throat, seeing they were next in line. “Got your passport ready?” She asked him. 

He pulled his passport card from his wallet and set it on his thigh as he watched the light turn green again to signal that they could proceed to the border patrol guard. 

It was getting dark out and Delilah couldn’t help but worry that the place would close before they got there — they could always break in and try to do it themselves. Or pay off someone who works there to help them. Yeah, that was probably a better idea. Delilah didn’t feel like dying; even if she knew she’d wake up in the morning naked in bed, safely back in Storybrooke. 

Delilah rolled down her window, pulling her passport out of her purse. 

“What brings you to Canada?” The border patrol officer asked. 

Delilah smiled. “We’re in search of an adventure, Sir. Life in America has us bored.” 

“In _Canada?_ ” The man laughed. “I suppose we have a few things to do here.” He chuckled. 

Delilah smirked. The man was older, probably in his fifties and had a beer gut that stuck out. “I see that.” She looked him up and down. He was the opposite of her type but why the hell not make this guys day by flirting with him?

“Is that your husband you got there with ya?” He asked, shifting on his feet as he looked at Jefferson. 

“Oh, don’t worry. We’re in a very open relationship.” She winked, causing the man to blush. 

“Eh, can I see some ID, sir?” He asked Jefferson.

He eyed the paunch bellied border guard who was looking in at him and flipped his passport card toward Delilah so she could hand it over. Seriously? Why was she flirting with this guy? Why was he getting irritated? He was not jealous. 

Her acting on the guard’s suggestion that they were married and in an open relationship just to draw in some rando from Canada? 

“Honey…” Jefferson said, placatingly. “Let the man do his job so we can go have our fun.” He pulled a bit of a forced smile for the guard.

He didn’t even want to be irritated with Delilah today. Maybe he was withdrawing from the alcohol he had been polluting his body with. But no, that couldn’t be either because he wasn’t an alcoholic before all this began. Irritated nonetheless, he looked out his side window so he could calm down and be cheerful as fuck again before Delilah noticed. What the hell was wrong with him, he wondered.

Delilah handed Jefferson’s passport to the man, watching as Jefferson looked out the window. Was he upset with her? She frowned, turning her attention to the man who was looking over Jefferson’s passport. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that they were in a relationship? Or, and open one. She had only been joking — did Jefferson think that _she_ thought they were in a relationship? She inhaled deeply through her nose, forcing a smile when the man handed her Jefferson’s passport back. “You’re all clear,” he told them, telling them to go on through. “Stay safe now.” 

“Of course,” Delilah agreed. Finally in Canada, Delilah headed in the direction of Quebec. “You know I was only joking about us being together, right?” She wanted to make it clear to Jefferson that it had been a joke. That she didn’t assume they were together just because they were trapped in the time loop together. “I mean, yeah, we had sex but…” Delilah shook her head, not knowing what to say. “I know that was a long time ago for you,” _and_ he had hooked up with people between that time period. “I was just trying to make that guy's evening. He can go to the bar after work and tell his buddies that he was propositioned by a total babe.” She tried to joke, hoping to lighten the mood. “Give his ego a boost.” She chuckled. “But I, I know we’re not together.” Delilah shook her head, wanting to change the subject. This was all too awkward for her and she did not want to be having this conversation. 

Jefferson looked back at Delilah, wanting to lace his fingers with hers just to assure her and himself that it was all fine, but he didn’t. It sounded as if she wasn't interested in him in that way anyway. He couldn't blame her for thinking so. He was just glad she wanted to spend time with him and here he was acting petulant.

Her explanation made sense, but she shouldn’t even need to give him one. Maybe it was just him still somehow being sensitive over Priscilla cheating on him, though he thought he was long past caring about that. And anyway, he and Delilah were _not_ together as she was making it abundantly clear. There was absolutely no reason for him to be acting like he did have any reason to be upset. 

“I know,” he said. “A total babe.” His eyes lingered on her for a moment.

“Never have I ever flirted with a Mountie because I had weed in my car and wanted to distract him.” She smirked. That hadn’t been the reason she flirted with him — but Delilah actually _did_ have a joint hidden in her glove box and was glad the man had been too distracted to search her car. “Look in the glove box.” She urged Jefferson. 

Smirking at her _Never Have I Ever_ , he shrugged. They could have been arrested, not like it would have been a first for him even in Canada, but they wouldn’t make it to the bungee jumping place if they had been and he was looking forward to that.

He reached for the glove box as instructed and popped the latch. Digging around, he found the joint and a small lighter. 

While he was planning on remaining sober today, he knew he needed to chill out so he wouldn’t ruin the whole day. “Nice,” he said and set it between his lips to light it, then passed it to Delilah.

“Want me to drive?”

Delilah smiled as she looked to Jefferson as he passed her the joint. “I’m a professional at handling my high, Jefferson.” She told him as she took the joint and brought it to her lips, taking a hit. The weed wasn’t _that_ strong, she’d make it to Quebec just fine. There were many times Delilah smoked without anyone knowing, able to act completely normal — really the only giveaway was her bloodshot eyes. Delilah passed the joint back over to Jefferson. “You enjoy it.” She told him, patting his leg. “We’re about to plunge 200 feet to the ground soon; I want you relaxed.” She smiled. 

“I’m relaxed,” he told Delilah as she handed him back the joint. He could be much more relaxed though and would be soon as he watched the forested area surrounding the border crossing turn into a tourist trap area for adventure seekers and bungee jumpers. He flicked the last of the joint out the window and sat up better in his seat as he took in the sight of the place they would jump out over. It was fucking glorious. “This was a great idea,” he told Delilah.

Delilah had to pay extra for not booking the jump in advance but she didn’t mind, knowing the money would be on her card when she woke up. 

Once they were up on the platform, Jefferson felt no qualms whatsoever about what they were about to do. It was as if he’d done this thousands of times, though he never had before. The sun was setting. The valley below looked amazing. He was ready. 

“You two going together or solo?” The man asked as they walked towards the bridge that was 200ft up in the air. 

“Together?” Delilah looked at Jefferson, “or did you want to experience this on your own?” The sun was just setting, the sky a dark purple. Her hands gripped to the railing tightly once they were up on the bridge, Delilah's eyes on the man in front of her leading them to the edge. They were _so_ high up. Was this a bad idea? Jesus Christ, she better not fucking die doing this. 

“Together,” he agreed, grinning at Delilah. They had come all this way to do this together; this was no time to part ways. 

Their ankles were strapped individually and then together plus the harnesses that went over their shoulders. Jefferson felt entirely secure. He waggled his eyebrow at Delilah as her straps were tightened. Delilah was told to wrap her arms around Jefferson’s middle first, and then he wrapped his arms around her. “Ready?” he asked, still grinning. 

The wind this high up was whipping around them. Would he be nervous at all if he hadn’t smoked first? He wasn’t sure, having never done this before, but still, he felt alive and ready. Would the cord snap? Maybe. He didn’t think he’d care if it did. Nothing was permanent anyway. 

“Jump when ready!” they were instructed.

Jefferson tilted his head as he glanced down at Delilah. On her signal, he would lean his weight to the side so that they would free fall out into nothing. A mix between a laugh and a scream rented from his throat as he watched the ground surge up toward them. His arms tightened around Delilah, not wanting to take any chances that he might drop her. The adrenaline rush was amazing--his high completely gone. 

Delilah kept her grip around Jefferson tight, laughing as they dropped to the ground, feeling weightless in that moment as they fell at a fast speed. She kept her face pressed to Jefferson’s chest, glad that he had agreed to do this together. She probably would have lost her nerve if she had to be the one to make the jump. Her job had been easy, giving Jefferson a single nod to let him know that she was ready. Maybe it was because she had smoked a little earlier, or maybe it was because of the way Jefferson was holding onto her; but Delilah had felt a rush of excitement right before they fell from the platform. 

The recoil made his stomach feel like it was in his throat and he was glad they hadn’t eaten lunch. But he was laughing when they bounced back down again and again. “We have to do that again!”

Jefferson was still laughing and Delilah could feel the vibration of it coming off of his body, tickling her. “You’re mad.” She laughed when he suggested they do it again. But she wasn’t going to say no. As long as they were strapped together; she’d do it.

Once they were on solid ground, Delilah kept a good grip on Jefferson’s hand, her legs feeling like jello and her body shaking from the adrenaline rush. “How was it?” One of the workers asked, smiling in amusement. 

Delilah laughed, shaking her head. “Is this normal?” She motioned to her shaky legs. 

“Oh yeah!” The man laughed. “Totally normal!” 

Delilah looked up at Jefferson, grinning. “You still wanna go again?” She asked, squeezing his hand. 

Jumping into the void was so freeing to Jefferson that when Delilah asked if he still wanted to do it again, his eyes lit up. “Who’s the mad one if you're willing to do this with me again, hmm?”

Her legs were shaking and he grinned as he scooped her off of her feet and jogged toward the elevator that would take them back to the platform. “I’ll treat this time,” he told her as he carried her into the elevator and the doors glided shut. 

He was a little out of breath from the adrenaline and the entire rush of it all but ecstatically happy. She had called him mad as they had bounced upside down, laughter seeming to echo in his ears along with the pounding of his heartbeat. “ _Maybe_ ,” he laughed. He wanted to kiss her as they hung upside down, swinging from the dwindling momentum, but it was physically impossible. Delilah wasn’t a tall woman and the top of her head came to his chin at best. Instead, he just ran his hands up and down her back as the only other relief of adrenaline he could manage. 

And now they were about to do it again. He set Delilah down on her feet and he leaned against the elevator wall. “Best day ever,” he told Delilah. Sure, he had said so the day before as well, but both days had been spent almost in entirety with her. She was a big factor in the reason he was enjoying living again.

Delilah had let out a squeak when Jefferson picked her up into his arms, carrying her back to the elevator. She laughed, shaking her head when he finally set her down. His smile was radiating when he claimed that today was the best day ever. She smiled, fighting the urge to move forward and kiss him. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was the way he had held her, but Delilah had to physically grip onto the railing in the elevator to keep herself from launching at Jefferson. Her entire body was vibrating and she had to look away from Jefferson. Thankfully, the elevator made it to the top of the bridge. 

Strapped together once again, Delilah kept her cheek pressed to Jefferson’s chest, inhaling deeply. He smelt _good._ Delilah closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his middle. This wasn’t good. She couldn’t be having feelings for Jefferson during this. It would just end with her getting hurt yet again. 

Delilah made a decision. Tomorrow when she woke up, she’d go with Katherine to breakfast; she’d be the perfect bridesmaid, she’d go above and beyond and she’d put some distance between her and Jefferson. It was for the best in the long run.

“Ready,” Delilah told him once they were standing on the edge. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The morning came just as it always did with Jefferson opening his eyes as soon as the bathroom door creaked open. He smiled to himself as he rolled onto his back, closing his eyes and stretched. 

The previous day with Delilah had been exhilarating. Dinner after had been spent in Canada, eating foods they hadn’t tried before and talking about the way it felt to take the leap of faith that a rope wouldn’t break on them. They had to be crazy but all the best people were. 

After dinner they wandered out into the Canadian wilderness and found an overlook of the valley they had bungee jumped into. The moon was full enough that it cast light over the wooded area. With his legs hanging over the rocky ledge, Jefferson laid back and set his head on his interlaced fingers. This was just as good a place to end a fantastic day. He turned his head to look at Delilah, smiling through the haze of drowsiness. “ _You’re my favorite person_ ,” he mumbled before falling asleep.

It wasn’t a new day but at least another in which he and Delilah could do whatever they wanted. 

“What are you smiling about?” The voice sounded amused.

Priscilla. Damn it. 

“I can smell breakfast from downstairs,” he lied, “and I’m thinking omelettes. Hungry?” He asked without looking Priscilla’s way because that was always her cue to drop her towel and the last thing he wanted was to get injured first thing in the morning when he turned her down. 

He rolled onto his other side and his bare feet hit the floor. His jeans were pooled on the floor and he slipped his feet into the leg holes and yanked his jeans up. 

“Well, yes, I’m hungry but not for omelettes...” Priscilla said, doubtfully. 

_Hurry_... Jefferson thought as he shoved his wallet in his back pocket, grabbed his phone and shoved his feet into his shoes. 

“Maybe pancakes,” he suggested, feigning ignorance. “And tea.”

“Jefferson,” Priscilla said, her tone becoming disappointed. “I thought we were going to try to fix this. Why did you even come back to me last night?”

That was a damn good question. He really wished he could change that day. 

Priscilla stepped in between the wall and Jefferson making the backs of his legs strike the mattress as he finally looked at her. Her green eyes were asking him to pay attention to her, but he only felt ambivalence toward her now. Too many times had he seen her getting plowed by his friend. 

Her auburn eyebrows went up as she looked at him. “I see,” she said quietly, backing up. “You’re still hung up on the past.”

 _Shit_. She was about to get angry. 

“Will you still go with me to the wedding so I’m not alone?” There was a time in the beginning when that had worked on him. But not anymore. 

“I have plans today. I’m not going to the wedding.” He slipped past Priscilla and managed to get out the door before she had reached the coffee pot. 

The delay this morning might have set him back a little, but he hoped he could still catch Delilah while she was getting dressed. So he walked down to her door and knocked lightly.

  
  


* * *

  
  
Delilah gazed out the window as the group of bridesmaids droned on about their plans for today. After breakfast they were heading to the nail salon where they’d all get manicures and pedicures and then after that they’d head to the hair salon where they would take care of their hair and makeup. Delilah barely touched her breakfast, her mind elsewhere. When she woke up this morning she could still hear Jefferson’s words lingering in her head. _You’re my favorite person,_ he told her before falling asleep. Delilah had felt her chest tighten as his eyes closed and laid down next to him, watching him until she finally fell asleep. 

_You’re my favorite person._

She frowned, trying to not let his words affect her. Delilah liked him. It was just a fact now. She had tried to stop herself from feeling anything towards Jefferson but friendship but after spending _two_ days with him, Delilah had fallen hard. God, she really needed to get better at self control. 

She was quick to get dressed this morning once her eyes opened, not wanting to waste any time. She snuck out of her room — wearing that stupid bridesmaid shirt, and went to the room that Aurora and Katherine were sharing, both women surprised to see Delilah up and ready for the day to start. 

On the way to the diner, Delilah texted Phillip a picture of Aurora. _She’s the one. Your person. Your true love. Don’t mess this up. You have nothing to worry about._

Phillip texted her back, _You’re a good friend, D. Thank you._

“You okay, Delilah?” Aurora asked. “You’re awfully quiet.” 

Delilah quickly forced a smile. “I’m fine,” she lied. “Just a bit tired.” 

“Did you stay up late?” Aurora inquired. “I saw you leave with Jefferson.” She felt her stomach drop. This hasn't happened before — Aurora had never brought up Jefferson. “You two looked pretty taken with each other,” Aurora smiled. “It’s been a while since anyone has seen him smile like that.”

“Because of his wife?” 

Aurora sighed in relief. “I’m glad you know.” She shook her head. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring it up since last night. They’re separated, of course. But I didn’t want you to be blindsided— Priscilla is one of our guests for the wedding.” 

Delilah nodded. “Yeah, that would have sucked to be blindsided.” It had sucked. “How do you know Jefferson?” She then asked. 

“He does business with my father,” Aurora told Delilah. 

Jefferson mentioned that he thought he might have worked at the restaurant they went to the other day — that he might have been the manager. “He works at that fancy restaurant, right?” 

Aurora looked at her like she was crazy. “He owns it!” She told Delilah. “And a lot of other businesses around town… He didn’t tell you?” 

He didn’t _remember_. “Must’ve slipped his mind.” Delilah felt the need to defend Jefferson. 

“Will he be your date tonight?” Aurora asked next. 

Delilah shook her head. “No,” she told the bride. “He, uh, he ended up going back to his wife last night.” 

“Oh!” Aurora said, lips forming into a frown. “I’m sorry, Delilah.”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t meant to be.” Delilah told Aurora (and herself). 

“It’s his loss.” Aurora told Delilah.

Delilah couldn’t help but chuckle. It felt more like her loss than his. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
There was no answer to his knocking on Delilah’s door. He put his ear closer to the door and heard nothing from beyond the door. Maybe she had already gone downstairs. 

Shrugging on his jacket, Jefferson stuffed his hands in the pockets and jogged down the stairs. 

Whale must have already finished his breakfast because he was heading toward Jefferson at the back of the diner from the BnB stairs. “Did you have a good night, buddy?” The doctor asked him with an odd smirk on his face. “People are talking...saying you hooked up with a bridesmaid.”

Jefferson’s eyes flared. That hadn’t been spoken aloud to Jefferson before. He wasn’t going to kiss and tell but there were only two bridesmaids and he wasn’t hiding when walking off with Delilah that night, so likely a lot of people from the wedding party could have assumed anything about him and Delilah. “Which people are talking exactly?”

“Oh, come on,” Whale chided, elbowing Jefferson. “You can admit it to me. If you need any contraceptives, your old buddy Vic has your back.” Whale pulled his blazer open to reveal a row of condom packages spilling out of the inner pocket. Likely samples from the hospital meant for Whale’s personal use. 

Whale turned at the waist to grin at the booth near the window and Jefferson followed his gaze to see the back of Delilah’s head. There she was. He smiled and Whale practically crowed, slapping Jefferson’s shoulder. “I knew it!”

Jefferson grimaced as he awkwardly thanked Whale and went into the diner to approach the booth. Aurora was seated with Delilah next to her. No nasal fatalities this morning so far. He was smiling as he approached the booth, his eyes on Delilah. She was wearing that bridesmaid shirt that he knew she hated and confused amusement was in his eyes as he looked from Delilah to Katherine and Aurora.

“Morning, ladies,” he said to the table of three women. His eyes moved back to Delilah in her bridesmaid shirt. So she was going to do this today. No pirate ship thievery. Fine enough by him. He could go with the flow. Maybe he’d go pick up the tux he ordered and go all out. Maybe dance with Delilah at the wedding… “Care to join me for breakfast?” he asked Delilah.

Aurora looked at Delilah and then to Jefferson, brows raised in surprise. Jefferson had impeccably bad timing. Delilah sighed, looking up at him. She opened her mouth to speak but Aurora cut her off. 

“She’s busy,” she told Jefferson. “Bridesmaid duty. You should probably get back to your wife.” 

Delilah pressed her lips together in a thin line, trying not to laugh. “I mean, honestly — the nerve,” Aurora scoffed. “You leave her in the middle of the night to go back to your wife and then expect her to want _anything_ to do with you?” 

“Aurora.” Delilah tried to stop her from saying anything further. “It’s okay,” 

“It isn’t.” Aurora huffed. “You don’t deserve to be treated like the _second choice._ Or, or, a last resort!” Shit, she was getting really angry now. Delilah closed her eyes, shaking her head. This wasn’t going to be good. 

_Second choice. Last resort._ Jefferson stared in horror at Aurora as she ripped him a new one. This was sweet, docile Aurora? What the hell were people saying about him? Or more specifically, what was Delilah saying? Now that it was clear who was talking about them, he looked to her. She was trying to laugh it off, but Jefferson felt like he’d been struck and far worse than the effects of any coffee pot. Was that how Delilah thought he saw her? As a last resort?

“Well, I know…” He started, uncomfortably. He knew he had messed up. “I’m lucky she would even talk to me.” 

“What’s going on here?” Granny asked, walking up to their booth. Jefferson turned his head to look at Granny, half expecting her crossbow to be at the ready.

“Nothing!” Delilah said quickly, standing up from the booth and placed her hands on Jefferson’s chest, pushing him away from the table so they could talk privately. “Let me handle this, Aurora.” 

Jefferson backed up willingly--he’d go anywhere she wanted, he realized distantly--his focus now completely on Delilah as he looked down at her hands on his chest and then met her eyes as he frowned at her. 

Delilah couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry. She asked me about last night and if you were going to be my date,” Delilah explained. “She wanted to make sure I knew you were married and things kinda escalated from there.” Delilah realized her hands were still pressed to his chest. She frowned, dropping them quickly as her face flushed. “I uh,” She shook her head. “I should probably get back to them before they sick Granny on you.” 

He was holding his breath. Why did it feel like he was being rejected? Had he made her feel this way? “Delilah,” he started. “I’m sorry.” 

Now that he was in front of her, Delilah didn’t want him to leave — she wanted to spend the day with him. But space was necessary if she was going to shake these feelings she had for Jefferson. 

“I’ll see you at the wedding, okay?” 

He wanted to tell her he _would_ be her date, that he would love to do that with her. Hell, he’d do anything as long as it was with her. After the fun they had together, he knew that they could be scrubbing toilets and he’d be happy just to be near her. But she was backing away. She thought he saw her as a last resort.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Sure.” 

Delilah looked at Jefferson for a long moment. She didn’t want him to leave. He had even apologized to her after what Aurora had said to him. Maybe space would create an awkwardness between them — that was the last thing she wanted. Delilah wanted to invite Jefferson to come with her to the nail salon, to join her, Aurora, and Katherine; he could be a bridesmaid for the day. It was a lot easier to put distance between them when he wasn’t standing right in front of her, looking like he just got a harsh beating. 

Delilah looked over to the table; Aurora and Katherine were watching the exchange. She shifted on her feet. “Unless you want to join us today?” Delilah suggested. “I’m sure if you pay for everything, Aurora will go easy on you.” She tried to joke. “We’ll be heading to the salon soon, you can get a wax.” Delilah smirked. “Be silky smooth for whoever you end up going home with tonight.” She raised her brows up and down. 

She just didn’t want him to leave. Delilah wanted Jefferson around, even if it hurt knowing he didn’t feel anything for her. Maybe that was selfish of her? 

A lump had formed in his throat. It was a bitter lump that took some force to swallow down. This is what he had caused. Delilah still thought he wanted to sleep around town. And why shouldn’t she? He hadn’t done much to prove otherwise. 

He wanted to ask her if the past two days hadn’t proved that he only wanted to be with her, but he had hurt her and words weren’t going to fix that. He couldn’t fix the previous damn day or the subsequent repeats of the current day when she knew he’d been with other people after her. _Idiot_.

Enunciating very carefully, so that he didn’t sound as upset as he felt, he smiled slightly. “I’ll pass. You ladies have a good time. You deserve it.” He looked at Delilah for a moment, thinking maybe he should say something else, but he’d already made his bed and would have to lie in it. “Excuse me.”

He stepped around Delilah and headed out the front door of Granny’s, not even looking at the gawking bride as he passed the booth. 

The air outside was refreshing and Jefferson felt like he could breathe again. He ran his hand through his hair as he collected his bearings. 

Delilah had gone with him the night of the rehearsal dinner, had wanted to be with him then. He knew he had changed since then. What he needed was to reconnect with the man he had been then and maybe she could see him again— not as a stoner who slept around and didn’t give a shit about anything, but a man that had earned the company of a classy woman like Delilah. 

But for the life of him, he barely remembered that man. There was one place he thought he might start. That house in the woods. He started walking, heading in the direction of the Storybrooke sign.

Delilah had forced a smile when Jefferson turned down her offer for him to join the bridal party. He left and Delilah had to close her eyes once he walked out of the building. She groaned, shaking her head. She had fucked things up. There was a tension between them that hadn’t been there before — both of them walking on eggshells with the other. Delilah walked forward, nearly making it to the door to go after him only to be stopped by Aurora. 

“Delilah,” she said her name in a stern tone. “Be strong.” Aurora didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about. Screw being strong! She needed to fix this! She needed to go after Jefferson. “Look, I know this is probably the last thing you wanted but...I had Phillip call Derek.” Aurora said, causing Delilah to look at her with wide eyes. 

“Why would you do that?” 

Aurora sighed, pulling Delilah away from the door. “Because the two of you...you’re meant to be.” 

“No, we’re not.” Delilah disagreed. 

“You say that now, but I bet as soon as you see him, it’ll all start to come back.” 

“Aurora, he’s moving on!” Delilah shouted in anger. “He’s with his coworker right now! You probably interrupted them going at it!” 

Aurora blinked in surprise. “He’s with someone else?” 

“Yes!” 

She frowned. “But...Phillip said that Derek is on his way.” Aurora said in confusion. She shook her head. “Clearly, he’s not serious about this woman if he left her to go be with you.” 

Ouch. 

Delilah felt the sting of rejection she felt each morning when she woke up naked and alone in bed. Jefferson had done to her what Derek was doing right now to Odile. 

She felt sick to her stomach. Delilah walked away from Aurora. She didn’t follow after Jefferson, she headed in the direction of the Rabbit Hole to drink her sorrows away. 

It was there that she ran into Captain Hook himself; _Killian Jones._


End file.
